tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80924867754997909962024-03-13T08:15:23.913-07:00Ramblings of TJR -- Marketer -- Mom -- TV Addict.An experienced marketer seeing the customer experience from a new perspective - as a Mom. Is a brand's moment of truth any different after you have kids? How do you fit your passion for TV into your newly focused world? And how does a former disposable life marketer take on the world of sustainable living? With a passion!TJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16444985322019360482noreply@blogger.comBlogger87125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092486775499790996.post-55506718600799228092013-04-26T22:04:00.002-07:002013-04-26T22:04:30.302-07:00The Complexities of Meningitis and VaccinationsWhen my half sister was around 8 she got meningitis. She lived on the West Coast and I was in my first year of high school in Ontario. It is safe to say I really didn't have direct connection with her illness. But she spent the next two years of her life in and out of BC Children's Hospital, with her longest stretch being around 3 months. As the years past, when the subject would come up, people would ask me if she had had viral or bacterial meningitis. I said I don't know -"...but it was the really dangerous kind". I knew she had come close to death a few times, so I thought it was a reasonable assumption. Frankly I had no idea how complex meningitis can be. <br />
<br />
Just after I was invited to attend a round table for World Meningitis Day, and how the use of vaccines can help protect our kids, I happen to be visiting my family. So I asked what kind of meningitis my sister had had. And my overly simplistic view of meningitis completely changed. My sister had viral meningitis. Which of course cannot be prevented with a vaccine. But the fast moving, invasive bacterial meningitis can be prevented with a vaccine. <b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>Great don't kids get those vaccines?! Again it isn't that simple. </b><br />
<br />
<b>First what is Meningitis?</b> It is a potentially deadly inflammation of the brain and spinal cord, which can be caused by a virus, bacteria or fungi. Bacterial meningitis is the most severe type. It can strike quickly, be difficult to diagnose (its symptoms are similar to the flu) and can<b> lead to death in a matter of hours. </b><br />
<br />
<b>How is it Spread?</b> It is spread in a similar way to a
cold or the flu, by close contact, ie: sneezing, coughing, sharing
water bottles, kissing or other close physical contact. Many people can unknowingly carry the disease and easily pass on the disease to un-immunized people. Since it is very
difficult to stop the spread of germs, especially with kids and young
people, prevention becomes an important consideration. M<br />
<br />
<b>But my 5 year old son has had several Meningitis C Conjugate vaccinations. He should be covered then? Yes...but no. </b><br />
The disease can be divided into groups, A, B, C, Y and W135. Four of these strains have a vaccine that can prevent the disease - A, C, Y and W135. The meningitis vaccination provided by the Province of BC to our kids prevents against Type C. There is a combined A-C-Y-W135 conjugate vaccine available. <b>But if you want it you will have to pay for it. </b><br />
<br />
<b> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zA9GzHsLsyY/UXtaTthwKmI/AAAAAAAAASs/MrwK-iVv1gs/s1600/Boating-Harrison-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zA9GzHsLsyY/UXtaTthwKmI/AAAAAAAAASs/MrwK-iVv1gs/s320/Boating-Harrison-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Brodie Campbell</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</b><br />
<br />
Many of us believe since we get that Meningitis C Conjugate vaccine that we are covered. Colin Campbell and Judith Osbourne believed that. But they<b> lost their healthy and vibrant 15 year old son Brodie <u>within 48 hours</u> to this invasive devastating illness</b>. Brody had been vacinated with the C Conjugate vaccine. But he had the Y-strain. Which could have been prevented with the combined A-C-Y-W135 conjugate vaccine.<br />
<br />
<b>My point...</b><br />
<br />
As a mother who just went through the vaccinations for my 5 year old son, including the addition of a newly added Chicken Pox booster (which meant a traumatic and acoustic breaking 2nd shot). I have to wonder why the Province of British Columbia can't see its way to provide more complete protection against a deadly invasive disease such as meningitis. I am not debating that Chicken Pox prevention is important. But why do I have to pay to get complete protection against a disease that is easily spread and that can KILL within hours? And at least 4 other provinces in Canada provide the shot.<br />
<br />
Note that <u>none </u>of these vaccines would have helped my sister, as she had an equally complex Viral Meningitis, which is separate from the above mentioned groups. I
can't even start to explain the different viruses that can cause the viral form of the disease. More info can be found <a href="http://www.meningitis.ca/en/what_is_meningitis/viral.shtml" target="_blank">here</a>.<b> </b>And it cannot be prevented with any vaccine or treated with antibiotics.<b> </b>My sister lives with the effects of her extended illness to this day.<b> </b><br />
<br />
<i>Disclosure: I was invited, but unable to attend a roundtable on World Meningitis Day with Colin Campbell and Dr. Gio Miletto. I was not compensated for this post in any way. </i><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
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For those looking for more information on Meningitis check <a href="http://meningitis.ca./">meningitis.ca.</a> Note that this disease can affect people of all ages, and that symptoms are different in adults and children.<br />
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<br /><br />TJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16444985322019360482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092486775499790996.post-75640062906706352762012-10-27T19:27:00.003-07:002012-10-27T19:28:02.299-07:00Organic Delivery - Part 2A while after I started ordering from Spud they saw this post. The result of our conversation is a great Spud.ca contest (and review) over on Fashion Forward 40. Check it out and be sure to enter for a chance to win $100 in Spud groceries before 9pm Pacific on Tuesday October 30th. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://fashionforward40.com/2012/a-girl-has-got-to-eat-review-contest/" target="_blank">Spud.ca Contest</a>TJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16444985322019360482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092486775499790996.post-48100599456300078932012-09-02T11:23:00.002-07:002012-09-02T11:23:33.844-07:00Organic DeliveryI recently worked with Spud.ca at a cancer fundraiser that I organized. They were really fantastic to work with and their produce fresh and yummy. I had been thinking about using this type of service for some time. This summer has been particularly busy and we have found it hard to regularly attend the local farmers' markets. We have a few choice veggies from own garden, but were missing the variety from the market. So a regular delivery of something like Spud's Fresh Harvest Box would be very helpful. <br />
<br />
I have used an online grocery service in the past. In the 90s there was a service and I used them for larger items, as I lived in a 3 story walk-up. But this would be my first experience with a sustainable grocery delivery service.<br />
<br />
So I am looking for advice. Has anyone ordered from Spud.ca? Should I start with the <a href="http://www.spud.ca/catalogue/fhbox.cfm?s=1&Spif=HowToShop__Shopping_to_CreateFHB1" target="_blank">Fresh Harvest Box</a>? Or is it better to start with smaller a la carte orders? I am particularly intrigued by their "my list" feature, which will allow me to create shopping lists from previously ordered items. <br />
<br />
Any advice appreciated!TJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16444985322019360482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092486775499790996.post-70706097244190967252012-05-21T21:39:00.000-07:002012-05-20T14:42:25.982-07:00The future of cars - Updated<em>Interesting couple of updates to this post from 2 years ago. My husband now has a contract out in Surrey, so he has to drive everyday. This means that often he and I both need a car. So it would seem that going down to one car is even less feasible than before. But it also coincides with my son moving into a booster seat and getting ready to start school in September. His new school is conveniently 2 blocks from a Modo Car Co-op car (Co-operative Auto Network rebranded this since original post). His new school is about a 20 minute walk for us. So it has become more feasible for me to walk/bus my son to school, then grab a co-op car if I need to do any running around that day.</em> <em>If I continue to work as a consultant, and not needing a vehicle everyday, I could see this being a very real option for us to get rid of my car.</em> <br />
Original post from April 2010...<br />
<br />
We had friends over last weekend and I was surprised when they said they had driven to our house. This young urban couple with no kids are avid transit and environmental supporters and have no car. So I was surprised to hear they had driven. But they had had some special errands to run that day and needed a car. They are members of the Co-operative Auto Network. So they had a snazzy red hybrid for the afternoon and evening. <br />
<br />
I thought great on them. I know when I first started my career in TO I went without a car for years. It was especially funny as I worked on the Saturn, Saab, Isuzu advertising account. But I was a junior and couldn't afford to have a car. So the guys could laugh all they wanted. If they weren't going to pay for me to have a car, I wasn't going to pay for one myself. If I had to drive out to GM in Oshawa, I rented a car and expensed it. It was cheaper than taking a taxi. But today it would have been much smarter for my company to have been part of the co-op. I also would have LOVED a car co-op for those big grocery shopping, errand running days. <br />
<br />
With a young toddler and both my husband and myself currently self employed (and always on the run to one side of town to the next) a car co-op at first seems unrealistic for us. I initially have visions of me on the bus, with a toddler and a car seat, making my way over to the co-op location about 12 blocks from our house. <br />
<br />
Most of the time we have 2 cars. One of which is very busy running one of us across town for work or errands. The other is used a lot less. In the summer we have 3 cars, as my husband has a vintage 1975 MG convertible. In those months our "2nd" car is very much under-utilized. Unfortunately the MG can't be used when running a toddler around. So thus we have kept our second car. We have considered selling it, but weren't sure how we'd coordinate on those days when we need 2 cars. <br />
<br />
I'm beginning to wonder if a car co-op might be a better 2nd car option for us. It might require a bit of coordination. And perhaps one of us driving the other over to the co-op location. But it could be a viable way for us to reduce our car load, be more environmental and reduce our budget.<br />
<br />
What about you? Could being a member in a car co-op allow you to get one (or more) of your cars off the road?TJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16444985322019360482noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092486775499790996.post-80129891929202997932011-07-25T16:17:00.000-07:002011-07-25T16:17:11.436-07:00Eco-Friendly Traverse Trip - The garbageFollowing up on my last post on how eco-friendly a road trip can be vs flying, today I want to talk garbage. I know not a sexy topic, but we keep adding to our landfills and a lot of it is unnecessary. <br />
<br />
What makes garbage on road trips?<br />
<ul><li>food (and particularly fast food) containers</li>
<li>pop cans, water bottles, coffee cups, juice boxes (of which there will be NONE on our trip</li>
<li>paper goods like - kleenex, wet-wipes, napkins and paper towels</li>
<li>paper and plastic bags</li>
</ul><strong>Food</strong> - Now I'm travelling with a couple of Food Revolution folks, so we won't be eating much fast food. We'll be buying food in grocery stores (we have all the Trader Joe's on our route mapped out), and doing a bit of quick mixing in our hotel rooms at night. We will have a plug-in cooler to keep things cold. Karen is all over it. She will be using re-usable containers and plates/cutlery that she has in a picnic kit. I've been looking at some options that would reduce our use of plastic, like metal containers, but in the end it might be better to use something we already have vs buying new of any type. We will be avoiding plastic wrap, foil and plastic bags. <br />
<br />
For other snacks we are trying to buy some of the things we like to snack on in bulk. So yes, there will be Hawkins Cheezie garbage, but at least it will be one big bag and not a bunch of small ones. And I'll be bringing some Hippie Chips along too. We might even put some of these snacks into re-usable containers to make them easier to pack. Or that might be just a bit too much like my mother-in-law. <br />
<br />
<strong>Drink Containers</strong> - This is likely the easiest option as our Traverse has LOTS of cup holders, so we can each bring a re-usable water container and coffee mug. I'm going to fill our 10L camping water container and bring it along for the back of the vehicle, so we can refill our bottles and keep them in cooler if we like our water cold. The only thing left is pop-cans. I think there is only only person who drinks pop in our car and she recently gave up her Coke Zero habit - glad she did that well in advance of the trip or it could have gotten ugly. :)<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PldHec0glXw/Ti33vxoxScI/AAAAAAAAANQ/3ZCdRde2Mn8/s1600/IMG_5531.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PldHec0glXw/Ti33vxoxScI/AAAAAAAAANQ/3ZCdRde2Mn8/s320/IMG_5531.JPG" t$="true" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Front seat cup holders</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O8ACtmW0-8U/Ti34HYk1rYI/AAAAAAAAANU/8CFaIPpBUGc/s1600/IMG_5533.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O8ACtmW0-8U/Ti34HYk1rYI/AAAAAAAAANU/8CFaIPpBUGc/s320/IMG_5533.JPG" t$="true" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Door cup holders</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-euEob7qjd5k/Ti34gSd1guI/AAAAAAAAANY/EZ9WMzylXdM/s1600/IMG_5536.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-euEob7qjd5k/Ti34gSd1guI/AAAAAAAAANY/EZ9WMzylXdM/s320/IMG_5536.JPG" t$="true" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back seat cup holders</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<strong>Paper goods</strong> - This one is probably the hardest. I can't imagine going on a road trip without wet wipes. But Nicole and I are both former cloth diaper parents and she suggested we use a cloth wipe trick. I have a large pile of small face clothes, and Nicole has some other cloth wipes. We'll bring them along with a little spray bottle of water, and a wet bag to store the dirty ones. Then when the inevitable Hawkins Cheezies accident happens we are prepared. I'm also going to bring some cloth napkins. We can rinse everything out in the hotel at night (I'll bring my portable laundry line too). For the car I have a great organizer that hangs on the back of the seats, which includes a cup holder to hold our spray bottle. <br />
<br />
I have never been able to bring myself to use a hanky, and allergies are bad this year, so I think some kleenex will be inevitable. I'll try to keep them in a wet bag that can be deposited into a compost bin, if we find any along the road (like at Trader Joe's). <br />
<br />
<strong>Bags</strong> - I'll bring along several cloth shopping bags. And I just picked up a great new collapsible box from Safeway. I actually picked up two - one is square and perfect for stashing all my car computer stuff nice and neat in one place. And the other is a rectangle and will be great for car snacks. They both have a stiff bottom and sides so they won't fall over and get sloppy in the car. When empty, we fold them down and stash under a seat. <br />
<strong>Garbage vs Recycling - </strong>I have a couple of small flexible recycling type bags, which can be used for garbage and recycling (and to keep our Traverse nice and tidy). We'll keep the recyclable food packaging and any paper items. We should be able to find a place to put it - likely in our hotel blue bin. But I don't think anyone wants to keep food scraps in the car for composting. I expect we will be able to compost at Trader Joe's when we stop. Otherwise we'll be depositing those in the garbage bins when we stop, along with any other garbage that happens to make it into our car.<br />
Isn't everyone excited to see my photos along the trip of how much garbage we have or have not collected. I know I am. <br />
<br />
Anyone have any other eco-friendly road trip tips?TJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16444985322019360482noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092486775499790996.post-81296518713248842282011-07-20T10:47:00.000-07:002011-07-20T11:35:13.194-07:00Eco-Friendly Traverse TripI love summer road trips. And now that we have actually had a few days of summer weather it feels like we should be heading on our summer trips. I'll be heading on my big road #<a href="http://www.gm.ca/gm/english/vehicles/chevrolet/traverse/overview">TraverseTrip</a> to San Diego in just two weeks. It will be a great road trip with 3 blogging girlfriends <a href="http://www.notesfromthecookiejar.com/">Karen</a>, <a href="http://resolvingtimelineissues.ca/">Nicole</a> and <a href="http://wavethestick.blogspot.com/">Alexis</a> to Blogher '11 - no juice boxes allowed. We've had a few interesting reactions to our road trip... mostly words I can't repeat here about how long a drive it will be. <br />
<br />
Yes, it will be a <strong>long</strong> drive! But there are some real environmental benefits to driving - besides being a great road trip adventure with my girlfriends. So besides discussing fashion and shopping along the road on <a href="http://fashionforward40.com/">Fashion Forward 40</a>, I'm also going to see how we keep our road trip as environmentally friendly as possible.<br />
<br />
Lets start with the biggie. Driving compared to flying. For those that don't love numbers I do apologize as the next part gets a bit like Grade 5 math. <br />
<br />
A few facts/assumptions:<br />
<ul><li>Number of travellers - 4</li>
<li>Vehicle - Chevrolet Traverse which gets a fantastic 8.4 L/100 km highway fuel consumption rating. For the sake of simplicity we used the highway rating for our calculations, but we know our actual consumption will vary, especially when we consider LA traffic. I'll track fuel consumption and do a final assessment at the end of our trip. </li>
<li>Driving Distance - Assumed direct drive from downtown Vancouver to downtown San Diego. I'll track our mileage and give a final assessment at the end of our trip.</li>
<li>Flight - Assumed direct flights from YVR to SAN. </li>
</ul><strong>Flying</strong><br />
<br />
A direct flight from Vancouver YVR to San Diego SAN return is 3,792 km (you can search distance between airports here <a href="http://www.world-airport-codes.com/">http://www.world-airport-codes.com/</a>). Thanks to my friends at Climate Smart, who helped me with the math, I know that a return flight equates to 1.13 tonnes CO<span style="font-size: xx-small;">2</span> equivalent. When flying each passenger is assessed a portion of the total carbon for the flight, so we must multiply that number by the 4 passengers <strong>Total 4.52 tonnes CO<span style="font-size: xx-small;">2</span> equivalent.</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>Driving</strong><br />
<br />
Driving from downtown Vancouver to downtown San Diego and back again is 4,494 km. With our Traverse highway fuel consumption, we should use 377.5 litres of gas which equals 1.0 tonnes CO<span style="font-size: xx-small;">2</span> equivalent. Since that is the total vehicle calculation, I don't need to multiple by the number of occupants. <strong>Total 1.0 tonnes CO<span style="font-size: xx-small;">2</span> equivalent.</strong><br />
<br />
That means we save <strong>3.52 tonnes CO<span style="font-size: xx-small;">2</span> equivalent</strong> driving vs flying. Which means driving is 22% of what flying would be. Or in real terms that means:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">CO<sub>2</sub> emissions from 133 propane cylinders used for home barbeques </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t7hK6LaK5k4/TiS3DcYmB7I/AAAAAAAAAM4/-f7R7Ud0Xs0/s1600/3323491939_3ed9507fa9_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="190px" m$="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t7hK6LaK5k4/TiS3DcYmB7I/AAAAAAAAAM4/-f7R7Ud0Xs0/s320/3323491939_3ed9507fa9_o.jpg" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo credit - Tomswift46 via Flickr Creative Commons</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><strong>OR</strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Greenhouse gas emissions avoided by recycling 1.1 tons of waste instead of sending it to the landfill<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yOHFIeaZF7E/TiS4OvXpKSI/AAAAAAAAAM8/Yx47wxcJ4fA/s1600/251645085_ee0761710c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213px" m$="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yOHFIeaZF7E/TiS4OvXpKSI/AAAAAAAAAM8/Yx47wxcJ4fA/s320/251645085_ee0761710c.jpg" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo credit - D'Arcy Norman via Flickr Creative Commons </td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><strong>OR</strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
Annual greenhouse gas emissions from .626 passenger vehicles - which would be like only driving your car 4.5 months of the year. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong>Other Considerations</strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">So if we are taking an eco-road trip what else do we need to consider? Well garbage is a big one. And use of disposable products is another. I'll have more on our plans to reduce our garbage next week.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong>Would you consider driving instead of flying for a vacation to help reduce your carbon footprint?</strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><br />
</strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><em>Resources... </em><a href="http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html#results"><em>http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html#results</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://climatesmartbusiness.com/"><em>https://climatesmartbusiness.com/</em></a><br />
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<em>Disclosure: GM is providing us with a loaner Chevrolet Traverse and paying for our hotels and gas to travel to San Diego and back. </em></div>TJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16444985322019360482noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092486775499790996.post-45089278002275482282011-05-30T23:10:00.000-07:002011-05-30T23:10:21.314-07:00Back Alleys and SunshineIn the grey Vancouver winter my neighbourhood is quiet. We stay inside. We use our backyards to access our vehicles in the garages that line the back alley. We sneak out back to take out/bring in the garbage. We think of the back alley spaces as a means to an end. Then the rain stops and the sun starts to shine. And the beauty of our neighbourhood and our back alleys becomes clear. <br />
<br />
I love the...<br />
<ul><li>laughter of kids playing street hockey and the calling of "cars" in multiple languages</li>
<li>back yards of the Vancouver Specials, which are really just drive ways, lined on either side with thin patches of gardens planted full of tomatoes, peas and carrots</li>
<li>conversations with neighbours over the back fence</li>
<li>sound of multiple lawn mowers almost creating a symphony together</li>
<li>way kids don't see race, culture or religion, but instead see a friend to ride bikes with, even if they can't pronounce each other's names</li>
<li>water washing down the alley from cars being washed</li>
<li>laundry that appears almost by magic on the line the instant the sun peaks out for an hour</li>
<li>smiles and hellos as you walk along the alley</li>
<li>kids knocking on the gate asking if my son wants to play</li>
<li>sound of children yelling, screaming, crying and laughing </li>
<li>that the sense of neighbourhood and community is not lost</li>
</ul>I love the back alleys of South East Vancouver.TJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16444985322019360482noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092486775499790996.post-75331486960523517002011-05-25T21:40:00.000-07:002011-05-25T21:40:14.930-07:00Networking in Vancouver<a href="http://fashionforward40.com/2011/vancouver-opera-blogger-night/">I</a> recently joined <a href="http://networkinginvan.com/">Networking in Vancouver</a> as a guest blogger. This is my first post <a href="http://networkinginvan.com/to-live-tweet-or-not-to-live-tweet/">To Live Tweet or Not Live Tweet.</a> TJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16444985322019360482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092486775499790996.post-25137784162304813502011-05-11T12:02:00.000-07:002011-05-11T12:02:50.034-07:00Loyal Customers - true loyalists or just too lazy to changeLast week I attended a lovely event put on by Microsoft and the folks at Hotmail. I found myself sitting in a room of 20 women or so and feeling embarrassed to say "<em>My name is Tracey and I've had a Hotmail account since early 1997</em>." I was the only person in the room, who didn't work for Hotmail, that had kept their Hotmail account since the beginning. I was proud of my dedication to hotmail, even through the rough spam heavy years (<em>although truth be told nothing will ever beat the spam-fest that my Telus email account has become</em>). I stayed through the rise of gmail. In essence I stayed through the lean years when everyone else abandoned ship.<br />
<br />
And that loyalty has paid off. Hotmail began a real shift in the last few years. They realize they took a lot of things for granted and dropped a few balls. And increased functionality in their product has been great. So over the past 2 years instead of choosing to open new accounts on other platforms I added to my existing hotmail world. I did have a gmail account for my other blog for a while. But it is now lives in my hotmail, along with my other 3 email accounts that all come into my hotmail hub. So instead of having to come back to hotmail, I'm still there. My loyalty has paid off with a better product. And I right where I want to be. Even if it makes me the only geek in the room. <br />
<br />
But lets be honest. Did I stay with Hotmail because of a strong sense of loyalty? Did they give me fantastic customer service that I would never dream of leaving? Did they offer me discounts or loyalty offers? NO. <br />
I stayed because, really I didn't want to change my email account. Yup, I was too lazy to change to something else. <br />
<br />
Apparently this is true in many aspects of my life. If it ain't broke I don't go out of my way to fix it. I present the following as evidence:<br />
<ul><li>Same bank since 1986. Yes, I've added other banking products at other banks/credit unions. But my main account is still with the same bank. Why? Well to me all the major banks come with their pros and cons. So why switch unless I really need to. I always figured I'd change when I bought a house and had to figure out a mortgage (<em>but I live in Vancouver and lets be frank a house isn't going to happen soon</em>). </li>
<li>Same hairdresser since 1999. Now I love my hairdresser and she continues to deliver a great product. She doesn't offer me price discounts. But I feel she takes care of me. I feel she appreciates my business and doesn't take me for granted. So I'm loyal. No cheating. Not even once in 12 years. </li>
<li>Same hotmail account since 1997.</li>
<li>Same car since 1999.</li>
<li>Same Internet provider since 2000.</li>
<li>Same cell phone provider since 2001.</li>
</ul>I think you get the picture. I'm a creature of habit. <br />
<br />
So does this mean these brands can assume I'm a true brand loyalist? No (<em>except my hairdresser who I would recommend to anyone</em>). It just means I haven't been given a reason to leave for someone else. <br />
<br />
Unfortunately many brands read my loyalty as good points for them. And then they leave me alone. Well, except to perhaps offer me a discount to upgrade my service (<em>and why is it I'm always suspect of their offer to help assess my products to make it better for me... always feel it is better for them). </em>Yet, I see many of the same company's offering new customers a great bonus to lure them over.<br />
<br />
Here is a novel idea. What about spending a bit of time really nurturing your existing customers to ensure they become true brand loyalists. Instead of just lazy customers. Hotmail is certainly an example of a business working hard to keep my business. They took a hard look at their product (and past mistakes), made some real customer focused improvements and are now reaching out to their loyal customers.TJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16444985322019360482noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092486775499790996.post-25317114734948491892011-04-29T15:39:00.000-07:002011-04-29T15:39:12.497-07:00Everything I Learnt about Voting was from SurvivorI have voted at every election since I turned 18. I always voted for the candidate in my riding that best fit with my personal beliefs. I figured that was the way it was done. Then I started watching Survivor. For 22 seasons I've watched the highs, lows, twists, alliances, cat fights, crazies, idols and of course the master of all hosts Jeff Probst. And as I prepare to vote in our upcoming Federal Election I realize my attitude towards voting has changed. And much of that comes from Survivor. <br />
<br />
And while much of the voting in Survivor is against someone else, many of the theories still apply. So what have I learnt?<br />
<ol><li>There is no fair way to vote. Dr. Sean Kenniff learnt that in Season 1 with his fair alphabetical system of voting. Almost all of his votes were throw aways and he still pissed people off. </li>
<li>The "Rats and Snakes" speech also applies to politics. Susan Hawk strongly felt that everyone in the game was either a rat or a snake. Political advertising often feels like the same speech, edited by highly educated speech writers.</li>
<li>No matter how much you like someone if they aren't in the right alliance then they don't get your vote.</li>
<li>Sometimes you can't vote for the person you want to win, but against the person you don't want to win. </li>
<li>Vote splitting is risky but can be used to masterful results. Of course there are no hidden immunity idols in politics, but after a number of minority governments it feels similar. </li>
<li>Tribal Counsel and a Candidates Debate are strikingly similar. Although the debates could really use Jeff Probst to mediate. </li>
<li>You want to trust, but really you can't. </li>
<li>Sometimes the tail coat rider wins. </li>
<li>Sometimes you can come back and win it all - Redemption Island, crazy twists where people get to come back or all-star seasons. You never know if someone is really out until the final votes are counted. Or after Jeff Probst does a crazy transportion montage to the LA studio. </li>
<li>Causing discord at camp can be used to your advantage. </li>
<li>The people who you may piss off while in office are also the ones who have to vote for you in the end. </li>
<li><strong>You have to vote to stay alive in the game. </strong></li>
</ol>And that last one is the most important. No matter your alliances, strategies or beliefs you need to vote to stay alive in the game. TJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16444985322019360482noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092486775499790996.post-35947905280235173842011-04-18T18:56:00.000-07:002011-04-19T16:50:13.746-07:00Follow Me on TwitterThis phrase "<em>follow me on twitter</em>" is starting to bug me. It all started when The Bay (@thehudsonsbayco) radio ads added ".<em>.and you can follow us on twitter</em>". I've tried to engage with their brand on twitter several times and have had no interaction. When I look at their twitter stream I see some interaction but they, IHO, are not truly engaging. <br />
<br />
"<em>Follow me</em>" or the FB version of "<em>Like me</em>" infers a one way communication. You follow them , they provide information. Likely the same information they have traditionally pushed out through other channels - sales, events, new product info. It feels like the marketing department said we really HAVE to get on twitter - everyone else is there. So they got an account. But they have not yet developed a true strategy to engage with their "followers". They likely have in depth strategies on how they will position themselves in all their other channels - why not twitter too?<br />
<br />
I've tried to engage with @thehudsonsbayco and several other brands on twitter over the past few weeks. I've asked very deliberate questions. Questions clearly directed at them, not just conversations where you flag a brand. I've asked questions that should be easy for the corporate tweeter to answer. None have been answered. Now I don't expect 100% of my mentions of a brand to get answered. But when I form a deliberate question directed to them I would hope that at least some would get an answer. Maybe not right away. I understand that many brands do not have 24/7 coverage on social media. But I do hope for an eventual answer. <br />
<br />
The other end of the spectrum is @xboxsupport. I tweeted a comment about a problem with our kinect. It wasn't a direct question. So I wasn't expecting an answer. 10 minutes later I had a reply with a link to a potential fix to my problem. They then followed up with a DM to get my feedback on my level of service. If you check the @xboxsupport twitter bio it clearly indicates they are there to engage. It also includes the hours the account is serviced. Xbox clearly has a customer service strategy for their twitter interactions on this account (and they have other accounts that engage people in different ways).<br />
<br />
Another brand that I've found a lot of fun to interact with is @canadianliving. I tweeted something about a recipe of theirs I was trying. They replied, pretty quickly on a Sunday, that I should post photos. We had a little conversation about muffins. And then I asked if the recipe could be done with whole wheat flour. The tweeter told me she'd check with their test kitchen the next day (it was Sunday). On Monday I had an answer and suggestions. The next time I made that recipe I tried their suggestions and then I posted photos. Not only was I happy with the customer service, but it increased the perception of their brand with my followers. Many of whom piped in about the muffins and the recipe. <br />
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It takes a clear engagement and positioning strategy for twitter. Just opening an account, telling people to follow you and then using it to push corporate announcements isn't enough today. Yes it takes a lot of work to manage a successful brand twitter account. But it has always taken a lot of work to build relationships with your customers. I don't understand why brands seem to think social media is going to be any different. Their is this "get rich quick" mentality to using these free tools. But twitter isn't a Kevin Costner movie, if you build it they will NOT necessarily come. <br />
<br />
So don't just tell me to follow you. Give me a reason to have a conversation with your brand. Even the pied piper gave people a reason to follow him. <br />
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Do you favourite brands you follow in social media? Do you have examples of brands who seem to get it? Or those that are just hoping for people to show up. Feel free to answer in the comments or @tjrossignol. I respond within normal waking hours.TJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16444985322019360482noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092486775499790996.post-16696011052820061052011-04-11T12:57:00.000-07:002011-04-11T12:57:19.403-07:00Buying Both a Business and a BrandIt seems logical common sense to me that when you decide to buy an existing business that you realize you are buying more than just a business. You are buying the existing business' product/service, as well as its brand, its reputation and its relationships with its customers. But this is apparently NOT common knowledge. I've seen several cases recently that make me shake my head.<br />
<br />
There are some real benefits to purchasing an existing business. They have done the initial set up for you. They have an existing (and assuming successful) product/service, clients, processes, etc. But you need to look beyond the balance sheet to see what makes that business tick and why its customers give them their business vs their competitors. <br />
<br />
As some of you might have heard Vancouver is a bit of a coffee city. In fact there are 4 independent coffee shops within a 3 block radius of one of my client's offices. And there are 3 Starbucks within an extra block walk. Each of the independent shops has its own unique brand. Something that differentiates them from the rest. The three that I frequent regularly include:<br />
<ul><li>Coffee culture place - They have the single estate roasts. Their staff compete in the regional barista competitions. Little chit chat here, unless you are talking the merits of coffee. They offer high quality, and really just a bit too highly priced sandwiches and goodies. </li>
<li>Caterer that could pass for your "local" if it was a pub - they love their food here and their kitchen is just as big as the coffee shop. They know my name, they know my order before I walk through the door, they know that one of my coffee cups has a lid larger than my head. There are regulars sitting there that must have jobs, but how can they because they are always there. I half expect a "Norm" to be called out Cheers style as people enter. </li>
<li>Funky coffee shop with unique sandwich and soup combos. This is where I go to get my flavour shot coffees, with a tuna melt and some crazy soup. I chat with the owners about vintage jewelry and make sure my coffee card gets stamped. The owners are relatable and friendly. </li>
</ul>Part of my consumer behavior is the location for each of these shops. The "local" is close to the parking lot and gets my morning visit where I pick up my decaf mocha, a great bran muffin (developed from the owner's grandmother's recipe) and sometimes a cool and yummy salad for lunch. Then the funky coffee shop is closer to the office and easy to pop into for my afternoon jolt, or perhaps lunch once or twice a week. The coffee culture spot is left for the days I want an excellent Chai NOT made from some super sweet mix. Note that the coffee culture is the closest to the office. But I frequent them the least. <br />
<br />
Now the funky coffee shop was recently sold to a new owner. While she has kept all the products the same, she started putting her stamp on the business right away. The obvious is the new artwork -- and a wall fireplace. These changes are (I'm assuming) supposed to make the place more high class. But what made its customers love this place was its funky, arty, community vibe.<br />
<br />
Then there is the staff. The old owners had a great balance between chatty and leaving you to your business. And they really set that funky, art, community vibe of the place. The new owner is not chatty, and while she smiles a lot she isn't really that friendly. Now that in itself is fine, because if she understands the brand of the business she bought she can hire staff that can help make up for her weaknesses. But she hasn't. <br />
<br />
There was also an old fashioned neighourhood feel to the place. I forgot my wallet at the office one day. No problem. Catch them tomorrow. I caught up the next day. Apparently a few other people ran a more regular tab (a rare thing in this day and age). They must have been slower to pay than the new owner liked. Because there suddenly appeared a list of outstanding tabs on top of the loyalty card box. Nothing like publicly shaming regular customers to lose customers. <br />
<br />
There also appeared a new hand written note on the cash register noting that debit transactions less than $5 would incur a 20 cent charge. The new owner has clearly, and quickly set up her top priority, profit! Not relationships with her existing customers. It is no longer a funky, alternative place to get a great sandwich (at a good price). The sad part is she clearly doesn't understand the brand she has purchased. I know that some of the regulars from my client's office are going there less often. They aren't boycotting the place, but one or two less visits a month by her regular customers is going to eat into her profits. <br />
<br />
And she isn't offering anything "new" that sets her apart from her competition. She bought a great niche business and is whittling away at that difference. <br />
<br />
Unfortunately I predict that as her traffic counts decline she will start to "adjust" her product mix to make up for it. And once those yummy sandwiches and unique home made soups change her business will eventually be lost. <br />
<br />
The other example I have is more extreme. Vancouver is also know for their bubble tea. People are really passionate about their bubble tea. There is a lot of bubble tea in this town. But only a few places doing it really really well. Places where you can get a fresh fruit bubble tea, with perfect pearls These places have line-ups from the moment they open to the moment they close. One of these has clearly been sold to new owners. The signage still indicates a list of fresh and powder bubble teas. But the "fresh" fruit now tastes like syrup. And when asked if it is fresh you get these blank "yes" of course looks. But they clearly are no longer fresh. And the pearls are mushy. The product is so bad and the change so obvious that long time customers are refusing to go EVER again after just one visit. <br />
<br />
In the case of the coffee shop you could argue that the new owner understands some of the core pillars to the business (the product quality has not changed) and is trying to elevate her new business to represent her vision for its brand. But if you are going to do that you better be clearly defining a new brand differentiation for your business. And not making yourself more like the rest. <br />
<br />
In the bubble tea example the new owners don't even seem to care about the existing business they bought. Neither really understand the brand they have purchased. And that puts both of these businesses at risk.TJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16444985322019360482noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092486775499790996.post-55381047221358222852011-02-21T13:52:00.000-08:002011-04-09T21:57:42.020-07:00The Politics of PinkMy son is a stereotypical boy. He is into trains, trucks, robots, lego, excavators, dinosaurs, concrete mixers (<em><span style="color: #999999;">don't dare call it a cement mixer in our house</span></em>). He is a high energy boy who runs, jumps, dances (<em><span style="color: #999999;">like Maniac from Flash Dance</span></em>), roars like a monster, growls like a pirate and does a perfect impression of a transformer transforming. And his favourite colour is pink. <br />
<br />
So yeah that last part isn't so stereotypical. But I love that he loves pink. And while I'd like to take all sorts of credit for being a gender neutral mom. It is his two girl friends at daycare that are likely the reason. They like pink. So he likes pink. <br />
<br />
Personally I love a man in a pink button down with a matching tie. But there are no pink clothes for boys. And most of the girl t-shirts in pink, also include some sort of princess element. And when I suggested a pink shirt that had a princess he emphastically said NO. During a recent trip to Old Navy he picked out flip flops, blue with grey stripe track pants, Ewok t-shirt, 2 soccer balls and a stuffed Penquin. Since we weren't shopping for clothes (<em><span style="color: #666666;">or toys</span></em>), we compromised with the Ewok t-shirt. We were there to buy new underwear. We found it all in the girl's section. His pick - pink girl's underwear. <br />
<br />
Was I an open minded parent? No. I distracted him with some blue stripes. I worried about what people might say if they see him wearing pink girl's underpants. I didn't worry about what they say to me. I worried about what he would hear them say about him. I've already had a few discussions with people I know about whether I should be concerned about his love of pink. And for the record I'm not worried about that.<br />
<br />
What I don't want is him thinking there is anything wrong with liking pink, just because society says pink is a girl's colour. I'd love him to have the option to pick shirts or sweaters that include pink. But pink underwear seemed over the line to me. It seemed too open to critism from others. Other kids and other adults. <br />
<br />
So for now, until someone designs some boy's clothes that include pink. I'll be on the lookout in the girl's department for cute pink/non-princess items that Lil T might like. That is, of course, if he still likes pink next week. As things change fast at 3.TJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16444985322019360482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092486775499790996.post-41865492924618637482010-10-20T07:03:00.000-07:002011-04-09T21:10:12.917-07:00The Moment of Un-Truth<em><strong><span style="background-color: white;">First I have to say it is obvious my plan to post at least once a month on this blog has failed. So I thought it was about time to take a break from my fashion blogging to talk a bit of marketing.</span></strong></em><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">A few weeks ago I went to Victoria for Social Media Camp to see Scott Stratten of @Unmarketing fame speak. He didn’t disappoint. He is engaging. He is funny. He is really funny! And he makes a good point. Actually he makes many good points. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Scott isn’t necessarily telling us anything new. But he is certainly giving us a well needed reminder.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">The basics of marketing, according to Scott, are that it is not a task. It isn’t a role, title or action item on a to-do list. It is every single time you engage with your customers. And building relationships means building business. Because as we all know that people do business with people – particularly people we know, like and trust. Scott reminds us that this is just common sense – too bad more of us don’t use it.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Marketing really is simple, but we make social media and marketing so complicated. One of my favourite comments was “We’ve had social media for decades it was called talking.” Social media is a tactic that allows you to build relationships! </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">When I rewind my career to 1992 I had the privilege to work on an innovative brand called Saturn (<span style="color: #999999;"><em>we can debate why Saturn failed in the long run on another day</em>).</span> This was my first job out of University and I was just happy to have a job in my chosen field of advertising – in a time when there were few jobs at all. I realized later what a great first job this was. Besides being a car company trying to introduce the innovative idea that a car company could be fair, they were smart marketers. They knew that all the millions they spent on starting this new car company from scratch would be lost with just one poor interaction – one grumpy receptionist, one mechanic that thought he could make a few extra bucks. They knew marketing wasn’t just your TV advertising. They knew that EVERY touch point with a consumer was a “moment of truth”. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">This truth is even more true today in the world of instant worldwide social media conversations. So it is even more important to understand your brand and its differentiation in the marketplace. Keep it simple and deliver it at EVERY customer touch point. Build relationships and don’t try to hit people in the face to get them to buy now (you’ll need to read Scott’s book, aptly named <em>Unmarketing</em> to understand this comment).</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Scott will be appearing in Vancouver in early December, on his <em>UnMarketing</em> book tour. Be sure you don’t miss him.</span>TJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16444985322019360482noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092486775499790996.post-77392016507667950192010-04-15T10:50:00.000-07:002011-04-09T21:12:39.564-07:00Multiple Twitter Personality DisorderI recently attended a Canadian Society for Marketing Professional Services (CSMPS) luuncheon featuring<br />
Craig Faulkner speaking to social media. His presentation gave me a few tips on how to adjust my social media thinking for my 'day' job. <br />
<br />
But it also got me thinking that perhaps I'm suffering from multiple twitter personality disorder. And I don't think I'm alone. I was chatting with a couple of other twitter friends on the weekend - and by chatting I mean in person sitting next to each other talking (which to me is the real value of twitter... but more on that another day). My 2 friends are entrepreneurs and both had a personal and business twitter account. We laughed about creating a unique voice and audience for each of our accounts. Then I rather sheepishly admited to managing four (4) twitter accounts. <br />
<br />
Somedays having 4 different and very distinct accounts is a challenge. But I still seem to be in control of them all... well except for those few times when I click the wrong personna on tweetdeck or hootsuite and I tweet something about diaper training on another account.<br />
<br />
First there is my personal account @<strong>tjrossignol</strong>. This one is the most complex cause it is the personal me. It is the mom, wife, marketer, tv viewer, lover of gossip, toilet training triumphs/failures, sci loving, sort of sarcastic account. Lots of topics open to discussion just like this blog and ME. Pretty much anything I'd say at a cocktail party after a glass of wine is fair game on this account. I have a good group of twitter friends on this account. We get together in person for family outings, playdates, tweet ups, vancouver mom's night out, marketing events, etc. They are great supportive pals and lots of fun to chat with online and in person. <br />
<br />
Then there is the<strong> @WIL_Fdn</strong>. This is the Women in Leadership Foundation account, which I manage with some help from a couple of other lovely volunteers. This account is all about inspiring and celebrating women. Bringing women together and helping them empower themselves. Topics include Women's leadership, professional advice, entrepreneurial information, research, what other women's groups are doing and of course information so we can meet up with some great inspiring women at our events. We follow and are followed by some very interesting and successful women. So I need to think networking profesional, and remove the glass of wine from my "voice" on this account (and I apologize for those few training updates from @tjrossignol by mistake).<br />
<br />
@<strong>Fashion_frwd40</strong> is the side of my personality that has always loved fashion. I'm sharing the details of my adventures in rediscovering my love of fashion after 40. Just like the <a href="http://fashionforward40.com/">http://fashionforward40.com/</a> blog I tweet celebs over 40 fashion, my own experiences, great trends and tips from other fashionable tweets. Now the people watching, slightly catty girl, with 2 glasses of wine (or perhaps a cosmo or two) comes out. I'm still in the community building stage here. I've started attending more local events and meeting people in person always seems to benefit my twitter relationships. <br />
<br />
My final account is my work one. I do the marketing for a professional services firm. This one is the hardest as I'm not an expert in the service we offer. So I'm listening more than talking. We are a creative thinking firm, so I use that as my guideline for content. But so far I listen and RT more than I provide original content. <br />
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Confused yet! Me too. I guess as long as the accounts don't start chatting amongst themselves without me, I think I'm okay. <br />
<br />
So how about you? Do you have multiple accounts? How do you create a unique voice for each?TJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16444985322019360482noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092486775499790996.post-53938250860847131862010-03-17T19:16:00.000-07:002011-04-09T21:11:58.454-07:00Happy Green Day!St. Patrick's Day!!! One of the my favourite holidays. Not sure which part of me is Irish but I know somewhere after the Scottish and the Chinese comes a blend of Irish, Welsh and English. My grandmother used to call us the "Heinz 57 of the Commonwealth" (that was when Hong Kong was still part of the commonwealth). <br />
<br />
It is funny looking back on how much this day has changed with my life. This year I almost forgot about it. I was lucky to read someone tweet about it yesterday so I could change out of the green top I had on and keep it for today. Then we celebrated with an "Iceholes" beer and some burgers and fries out tonight as a family. <br />
<br />
Then I rewind 11 years and remember the craziest St. Patrick's Day ever! We arrived at the Irish pub a few blocks from my office in downtown Toronto at about 11:30am. We had planned ahead and made reservations, but we still needed to get there early. The whole office was there (we were a small firm with an average age of 20 somewthing) and had planned a fun lunch. I stumbled out of that pub sometime around midnight that night. About half the company never made it back to work that day. And some were even late the next day. Other than when I worked in a pub I don't think I've ever spent half a day in one. <br />
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Now - burgers with a 2 year old. Then - a week's grocery budget spent on beer and a few pissed off clients.TJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16444985322019360482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092486775499790996.post-11444512252385313042010-02-27T15:57:00.000-08:002011-04-09T21:13:53.934-07:00Things I Learnt as a Volunteer<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Today I finished my last smurf shift. In case you've been avoiding any Olympic news these past few weeks, a smurf is a Vancouver Olympic 2010 volunteers in the turquoise blue jackets (You see them everywhere). Some of the volunteers starting calling themselves smurfs and the name stuck.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_m57JlN5GVLc/S4qqiF-0CkI/AAAAAAAAAIs/0O-M7YRLa7w/s1600-h/IMG_3344.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" kt="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_m57JlN5GVLc/S4qqiF-0CkI/AAAAAAAAAIs/0O-M7YRLa7w/s320/IMG_3344.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So I know little to nothing about curling, but I learnt a little spending 10 of my 12 volunteer’s shifts as an Event Services Team Leader at the Vancouver Olympic Centre - the curling rink (the other 2 shifts I did at BC Place for the Dress Rehearsal and Opening Ceremonies). On each of my shifts I had a team of 4-10 volunteers’ hosts who held all sorts of positions like marshals, ushers, ticket scanners, access monitors, etc. Generally we dealt with the public to ensure they got where they needed to go as quickly and as easily a possible. </div><br />
I learnt a few interesting things from my experience and I thought I'd share them....<br />
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1. Hydration is a double edged sword - you need to drink, but that means you have to pee... usually when you have several thousand people standing in front of you at the security gate. <em>Lesson: time you’re drinking carefully.</em><br />
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2. I did two shifts at BC Place for the Opening Ceremonies. It rained. I was outside. <em>Lesson: My running shoes aren't waterproof.</em><br />
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3. Your job is to help run the event. <em>Lesson: PVR it and watch it when you get home!</em><br />
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4. As volunteers we are happy to provide feedback to our supervisors about something that is not working as it should, or if someone has a particular grievance. But when someone doesn't like that particular "rule" (that the volunteer didn't create, but has been asked to enforce) and starts yelling at you don't take it personally... it only proves they are the ass. <em>Lesson: be nice to volunteers.</em><br />
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5. It is raining on us too! And we've probably been standing in it longer. <em>Lesson: Consider the other guy's POV. </em><br />
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6. Wearing your radio on your belt might feel like you've become a Grade 10 AV club geek, but it far better on your back, shoulders and jacket. <em>Lesson: Learn this lesson before Day 5</em><br />
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7. I was so proud of learning how to pee without taking off my radio, backpack or jacket. Until I realized #6 and had to move the radio to my belt. Thankfully the bathroom floor was dry when I dropped my radio (actually I should be thankful I only dropped it on the floor). <em>Lesson: hook radio on stall door not smurf vest.</em><br />
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8. Everyone gets excited about getting their picture taken with Quatchi. <em>Lesson: There is a kid in all of us.</em><br />
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9. When they warned you not to forget your accreditation because it will be pain they didn't lie. <em>Lesson: Don't forget your accreditation.</em><br />
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10. Don't get too cocky if you don't get selected for a random security check for a few days in a row. As you WILL get "blue" four times in a row on the day you have volunteers working the security gates and you are in a hurry. <em>Lesson: Taking off your radio, backpack, accreditation and jacket is a pain and the wire in my bra makes the machine beep.</em><br />
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11. The day you are supposed to ensure the bathrooms are secured and locked outside the spectator area 30 minutes before the game ends, the game will end suddenly while half your volunteer team is still on lunch and you will be stuck trying to lock bathrooms with a large crowd proceeding at you full speed ahead. <em>Lesson: There is a cop there when you need help.</em><br />
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12. My body feels like it has just finished a swing dance camp. Except at swing dance camp I'm up dancing until 4am, and not getting up at 4am. <em>Lesson: Start taking Ibuprofen on day 1.</em><br />
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13. If people show up 20 minutes before an event it is likely a lot of other people thought they could do the same thing... so there will be a line up for security and they will miss the beginning. <em>Lesson: It isn't the volunteer's fault that you didn't plan better - get there earlier.</em><br />
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14. Getting into a uniform everyday makes it easy to get dressed everyday, especially at 4am. <em>Lesson: See my fashion <a href="http://fashionforward40.wordpress.com/2010/02/17/uniforms/">blog</a> for discussion on merits/challenges of uniforms. </em><br />
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15. We had lots of training, but really until you do the job you know nothing. And the first day you do ANY post it is ALL new. <em>Lesson: Fake it until you make it.</em> <br />
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16. Volunteers love snacks! <em>Lesson: You can buy the adoration of your volunteers by bringing them cookies, snacks and candy! </em><br />
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17. You will forget at least one volunteer host on a particular post for too long. <em>Lesson: Remember you are also a volunteering trying your best and get over it... if that doesn't work try candy.</em><br />
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18. The Olympic EVS Team Leader Diet of 8 hours of walking supported by cookies, sandwiches and soup works. It may not last but my clothes fit great! <em>Lesson: I won't be eating any sandwiches for a few weeks.</em> <br />
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19. You WILL run into someone you know, usually as you are loudly explaining the "express" lanes to a large number of people. They will recognize you in your smurf uniform. And it will likely be a former boss or boyfriend. <em>Lesson: Laugh and tell them how much fun you are having.</em><br />
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20. Things aren't always named accurately. <em>Lesson: "Express" isn't necessarily faster.</em> <br />
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21. The Madonna headset on your radio will mess up your hair. <em>Lesson: Get over it.</em><br />
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22. Life goes on while you are at the rink. <em>Lesson: Return library books and pay bills before Olympics.</em><br />
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23. With the exception of cold, wet, late people at security EVERYONE in Vancouver was nice for 2 weeks. <em>Lesson: Keep it up.</em><br />
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24. My 2.5 year old will say to Daddy every morning "Mommy no go volunteer Olympics. no go work, come home". It makes my heart break. <em>Lesson: My husband rocks for watching a very active toddler while I volunteered! </em><br />
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25. Volunteers, supervisors and event management at Canadian Olympic Centre are AWESOME. I had an opportunity to work with some truly fun, unique and smart people from all across country (and the world). Each brought their own unique talents to the role. And anyone who can be friendly and still smiling after 8-9 hours standing on concrete (sometimes in the rain) is one hell of an awesome person!!! <em>Lesson: Never judge a book by its cover.</em><br />
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I did have tickets to a couple of events to watch Canada win gold (Free Dance and Women's Hockey). And I did get to stop by one or two of the free Olympic events on my day off. But in general my Olympic experience was different than many others and in some ways I felt disconnected to the actual games as I was 'back of house' helping things run smoothly. But I wouldn't trade the experiences or the people I met for anything. <br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Now bring on the Paralympics!!!</span></strong>TJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16444985322019360482noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092486775499790996.post-60581591912783636232010-02-24T08:44:00.000-08:002011-04-09T21:13:53.941-07:00Adventures at 5:30amI was woken up this morning at 5:30 am by the door bell. You know a 5:30 doorbell is got to be bad news OR something crazy. <br />
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So my husband had gotten up just before 5:30am to go to the bathroom, he found my Mom was in the bathroom. Not knowing how long she would be in the bathroom and being in rather desperate need he went out into the back yard. My Mom came out of the bathroom to discover the back door wide open. She closed, locked it and went back to bed. My hubbie dressed only in his housecoat was now locked outside. So hence the doorbell! At least 1 person in the house slept through all the fun and that was the 2yo.TJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16444985322019360482noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092486775499790996.post-81458193569126924732010-01-30T22:24:00.000-08:002011-04-09T21:34:33.841-07:00Where did I go?I have not abandoned this blog. I intend to continue blogging about my life in marketing, as a mom and as a tv addict. But I might be doing it a little less. I took on a new marketing contract a couple of days a week <strong>and</strong> I started a <a href="http://fashionforward40.wordpress.com/">new blog</a> focused on fashion after turning 40. I hope to continue to post here at least once a week... it just might take me a bit of time to find my balance. Thanks for your patience.<br />
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TTJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16444985322019360482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092486775499790996.post-74524127434688648022010-01-15T14:17:00.000-08:002011-04-09T21:15:25.175-07:00Lilli'Q Cafe and PlayhouseHad a playdate today at the new Lilli'Q Cafe and Playhouse in Yaletown. Great idea considering the number of parents living downtown and the number of truly kid friendly options in the area.<br />
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I had a nice chai latte - disappointed my 'to stay' cup was paper - and a couple of mini muffins. Nice quality products but would like to see more selection of food for both young and old. Just a wider range of baked goods would be great. <br />
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Was offered a free massage - great, but not the right day for me as I was there to meet and chat with my friend.<br />
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My son happily played in the toys amongst the other kids. Which was a nice break for me. My friend's son who was older at 4 was quickly bored as most of the other kids were between 0-2.<br />
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We didn't need a potty break while we were there, but saw a lovely open change area with a stool to the sink. And it worked well with multiple people in the area at one time. <br />
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The biggest challenge I saw was the space for strollers. There is a great stroller parking area but you have to go all the way through the space to get to it. And it is a skinny space. I watched about 10 minutes of stroller traffic jam when a number of people were arriving and leaving at the same time. This is a challenge that will only get harder as more people frequent the cafe. <br />
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Will I go again - absolutely. Will it be a destination for a morning out - probably not. TJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16444985322019360482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092486775499790996.post-67956109784904102282010-01-06T17:46:00.000-08:002011-04-09T21:34:33.848-07:00Spring has sprung<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_m57JlN5GVLc/S0U8TuFz-fI/AAAAAAAAAIk/OZZ9j7Dq5v8/s1600-h/IMG_0855.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_m57JlN5GVLc/S0U8TuFz-fI/AAAAAAAAAIk/OZZ9j7Dq5v8/s320/IMG_0855.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">January 6th, 2010 Vancouver<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Looking for fashion survey - look to next article below!!!</em><br />
</div>TJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16444985322019360482noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092486775499790996.post-84808853399383129082010-01-05T00:33:00.000-08:002011-04-09T21:34:33.854-07:00SurveyI'm developing a business plan for a new entreprenuarial project. I would love if you would take the time to complete my little <a href="http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5BF2RRW">survey</a> about fashion. If you feel I missed a question or have something to add please feel free to add it in the comments below.TJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16444985322019360482noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092486775499790996.post-61242435871566852072009-12-21T14:34:00.000-08:002011-04-09T21:16:09.804-07:00Christmas is a time for giving back<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My husband's family has a great way of celebrating Christmas. They are a large traditional divorced family with fantastic family occassions on both sides. My husband has 2 parents + 2 step parents + 3 grandparents + 3 sisters, 2 brother-in-laws & 3 nephews + 1 Uncle, his wife and their 2 grown kids. Plus me and the little monkey. We are a blessed family and in need of little. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every couple of years we do a family ski trip and enjoy some time together in the fresh air. The 3 oldest kids (spouses and their kids) usually get a condo for the entire time, and the parents and grandparents split their time so we get to enjoy both sides of the family. No matter where the family is celebrating they have some great traditions for young and old. The kids usually have a bit of a show - singing or dancing for us. Oma usually does her felt puppet "Christmas story" and of course we have lots of songs and hymns. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can image buying gifts for that large of a crew would be a lot of work. So they like to focus the holidays on the togetherness, the occassion, the food and photos (we have more than our fair share of shutterbugs) - not the gifts. We all get gifts for the kids, of course. But then we draw names and each person buys a gift for only one other adult on each side of the family. This lets us focus on our time together and not spending a lot of money or time on gifts </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(<em>although my husband usually still buys lots of fun German treats - he says he isn't technically cheating as they are meant for everyone's stocking</em>).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Charitable giving also has an important part of their Holidays. A few year's ago we gave a goat in Opa's name to a family in South America. As 2009 has been a tough year for many the family decided that there would be no adult gifts at all. The family drew names and donated to a charity in that person's name. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So hubbie and I decided to do the same with my family this year. We have told everyone over 13 to expect small fun holiday gifts and then we were giving the rest of our Holiday budget to charity. Since Vancouver has the highest child poverty numbers in the country we decided to make our donations to:</span><br />
<ul><li><a href="http://www.foodbank.bc.ca/main/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Greater Vancouver Food Bank</span></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.breakfastforlearning.ca/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Breakfast for Learning</span></a></li>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>In spirit of full disclosure we did do a special gift for Daniel's Omi who flew us out to Calgary as a surprise for the family this year. She gave us the gift of time with our family, so we put together a nice little memory of</em> <em>her Great Grandson. But as it technically won't arrive until January we didn't really cheat.</em></span><em> Since she doesn't read my blog this should be a nice surprise when it arrives.</em>TJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16444985322019360482noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092486775499790996.post-21241107950957237312009-12-11T17:23:00.000-08:002011-04-09T21:16:44.645-07:00Follow Friday<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So last week I missed my follow friday blog, as I was stuck in rural Alberta in a snow storm with dial up... yeah I know "do I want some cheese with that whine?"...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week I thought people might be looking for practical organizational advice - unless you are one of those people who finished your Christmas preparations in August. My friend Christa Wagner is a professional organizer, and a fantasticly upbeat outgoing lady. Her most recent <a href="http://www.christawagner.com/blog/2009/12/holiday-organizing-for-the-practical-user/">blog</a> is about Holiday Organizing for Practical User - particularly relevant to those of us who have left most everything to the last minute. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Christa is a busy lady, who blogs almost daily with practical tips & advice for us busy people trying to organize our homes, lives and meals. And if you need more than just advice check out her <a href="http://www.savvysolutionsorganizing.com/">Savvy Solutions website</a>. </span>TJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16444985322019360482noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092486775499790996.post-88867518862532001502009-12-09T12:46:00.000-08:002011-04-09T21:17:34.721-07:00The Perils of a Big Surprise<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So over the weekend we flew to Alberta as a surprise for my hubbie's family. His grandmother really wanted us there for her Christmas dinner (this is the year everyone is going away for Christmas so family dinners were scheduled earlier). So she decided to fly us out as a surprise. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Surprises are always somewhat complicated - what is the cover story/what are the real details/who knows/who can't be told for any reason????? But for us the surprise was further complicated by social media, forgetfulness and the weather. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Who was in on it? Omi, me, hubbie and his father (as this was a celebration with the mom's side of the family we felt he would be a good reliable conspirator) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>#1 - Social Media Silence</strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Why social media? While my hubbie's family couldn't be told, his friends could. But hubbie didn't think he needed to tell his friends it was a surprise, as they don't talk to his family. He forgot about that big melting pot of friends and family... <strong>facebook</strong>. So I kept getting facebook wall questions about our trip. Thankfully they all got removed before they were seen. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Then there is my affection for twitter. After I tweeted about waiting on the phone for West Jet for 2 hours, it occured to me I would have to go into "twitter radio silence" about our trip. Now my brother and sister-in-law aren't super active on twitter, but they might notice if I was tweeting about a trip to Calgary. And since I tweet about almost everything it was hard to keep my big mouth shut for 2 weeks. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>#2 - The car seat</strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Got to the airport and as we were checking in we realized we had left the car seat in the car... which had by now left and was driving home. PANIC!!! Now my sister-in-law (SIL) in Calgary usually has an extra seat... but we can't call her or we'd give up the surprise.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So my father-in-law had to stop and buy us a new car seat on his way to airport to pick us up. Now we really didn't need a new car seat, as we already have 2 at home. But he didn't have time to rent one and couldn't figure out a viable lie to get the one from SIL. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So with our brand new car seat we were driven to Red Deer, met by Omi and then drove out to her place at the lake. Got settled into the house... realized how dreadful the dial-up internet was and waited for people to start to show up the next day. But they didn't!!! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>#3 - The Storm</strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">A huge snow storm hit Southern Alberta on the Friday and highways were closed or labelled critical. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Now what do you do when you are stuck inside in a snow storm? Go online is likely a common answer. Besides it being painfully slow, I also couldn't bitch about the weather or the family will figure something out. So what do I do? I gloat about the Vancouver weather of course! Hey I had to do something... Mommy boredom mixed with a toddler going stir crazy is a bad mix. Something had to be done.</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">#4 - The Dinner</span></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The big dinner was planned for Sunday and the fingers were all crossed that the weather would clear. It did. But then the family started to talk about car pooling... well that would 'kill' our ride back to Calgary. Again we couldn't ask anyone to leave space in their car for the 3 of us and our luggage. Thankfully Omi talked them out of that without giving anything away (that woman really does lie well on the fly... kind of scary reall). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>#5 - The Surprise</strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Hubbie's mom arrive at the house a few hours before the dinner. Omi told her she was babysitting a neighbours kid and we let the little guy run into the room. She stared at him and said "Boy does that little kid ever look like T". Then I stuck my head out and my MIL's jaw dropped to her knees. The best part of a surprise is when it is a real surprise. Same went with her husband as he arrived from the car a few moments later.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The rest of the family was met at the restaurant with similar surprise and excitement. I can't believe that Omi had done such an excellent job at lying that there were even gifts for us there (she had told everyone she was coming out to vancouver on Dec 26th for the holidays and to bring our gifts with them.... she really really is a good liar). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Dinner was fantastic. Seeing everyone was fantastic. Omi was so happy with everything. Plus because of the storm she got to spend a very intimate weekend with her great grand son. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">As for us. Thankfully we were able to squeeze our stuff (split between 3 cars) and ourselves back to Calgary, where we had a little after party at my SIL's house. It really was a lovely Christmas family celebration. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">And then we realized bear and bunny got left behind at Omi's house.... but that is another story. </span>TJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16444985322019360482noreply@blogger.com3