Eulogy for Kane

Well today we said goodbye to a good friend, my brothers dog Kane. He lived not as a pet, but as a member of our family. It's hard to watch someone you love get old and sick as with Kane and reality can be a hard mistress. My brother was left with a difficult decision, but in the end it not a question of choice, but what was more humane. I'll always remember him as a happy-go-lucky guy who loved to run and play, especially in the water. I never really let it get to me until now... I guess it's because his nature was like a teenager not an old man. I saw him as I wanted to.

We will miss you good buddy!

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Free box of Granola Bars

As you probably know if you know me, I love a good deal and nothing is better than free! Here's a quick link to get a free box of granola bars. Considering spring is on the way, why not get something for the hiking trails?

Enjoy

(order form works best from microsoft explorer)

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Sweet deal at J Crew (Update)

JCrew.com is offering free shipping to Canada with their most recent coupon code. They've also restocked their Final Sale, moving previously unreduced merchandise into the clearance section. Prices do not reflect the following

If your into cashmere, they've got sweaters for 100 bucks. Personally, I like the cords and am in need of a new pair. For 20 bucks, plus the 20% means I'm paying $16 in the end and free shipping, how can I go wrong? I just have to get Dora to have a look as she appreciates the pants just as much as I do!

(Free Shipping Coupon appears to be DEAD)

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Deals are good! (Updated)

Here's a quick link to a coupon for 10 bucks off a 40 dollar purchase at Canadian Tire. I consider that a good deal, if you consider the good deals that are already there.
(They discountinued the link, but here is another link to the coupon)

Personally I'm gonna buy a couple of these Gerber Clutch Multi-Tool. that are on sale for $8.74 (Reg. 24.99 at CDN Tire or 18.95 at MEC)
I had one and loved it for it's compact size and usability! It is nowhere to be found so I figure if I buy 5 of these and stash a few to use later as gifts (or to replace a later loss) then that works out to a price of like $6.75! Guess I'm doing my Christmas shopping early...

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In the Shadow of the Red

Well as I'm sure most of you might know, last night was a lunar eclipse. For the not so science people, that means the Earth was between the Moon and the Sun. The red like colour was produced from the sunset/sunrise light curving around the Earth and hitting the Moon. Cool eh?I recently got a new camera, a Canon A570is for a sweet deal of around $120Cdn. For the money it's the best camera out there hands down! To make it an even better camera, you can load 3rd party firmware that gives it a ton of extra features, including shooting RAW. I thought I would post a few pictures that I took last night.




Not bad for a camera just over 100 bucks!

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Back

Well the trip is over and we are back home. At least the weather has been awesome since arriving back in Canada. I have been going over the enormous collection of pictures that we managed to accumulate on the trip and have been cleaning them up, cropping, etc.

The program Adobe Lightroom is excellent program for looking and working with pictures and it has the ability to apply creative effects to the pictures. The nice thing is that all the changes you make are stored as data rather than changing the picture. That way you can make multiple versions of the same picture without adding more files to the computer. Here is a sample that I did with my brothers family.

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Puerto Vallarta : the finale

Well, the last couple of days just flew by and we leave tomorrow. I must say that I'm starting to enjoy this "all-inclusive" trip. In the past, most of my trips are planned with activities every day that involve driving to and from and typically end up being long days. This is the first vacation where there was no driving and a fair amount of time lounging around.
I can honestly say that I’m leaving this place more relaxed than when I arrived. I found some enjoyable new activities while here. Snorkeling turned out to be a fun pastime and easily accessible from the beach at the resort. I was able to see plenty of fish, including the puffer fish that has spikes all over it. I was too chicken to touch it with my hand to see if I could get it to puff out! Maybe next time I’ll give it a try.
Tomorrow our flight leaves at 8PM so we have a full day before we leave. Plans are to head to town for on last round of shopping and then to the airport. I’ve got this sweet gift for my bro at home (the cold one) who now has two kids and couldn’t make the trip.

Don’t worry bro! Next time we’ll get the whole crew on vacation! We arrive home around midnight at will do the drive back South to LOMAH, as long as the roads are good. Love you guys and see you soon!

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Puerto Vallarta Pt.II

Well it appears we are surviving with smiles on our faces as you can see by the wonderful family shot of my brother. I can't guarantee they always look this way!!
We have found our spot in the pool where we head to on a regular basis and it's nice that this part of the pool is shallow enough for the kids to play. Bro has been great with the kids, much like a big jungle gym! Logan has appreciated the distraction away from his folks!


We're all adjusting to the life of leisure (just in time to head home) and have gotten out for a few activities. The bro and his wife did some diving in Las Caletas and we hung out on the beach and did some snorkeling. It was a nice break from the constant barrage of peddlers and hotel life as there were less people here and it was much quieter. Dora and I tried our luck at snorkeling but our time ran short and we did not get our fill. This is something we'll have to try again.




As well, Bro and I got out to the bullfight tonight. Having never been I thought it would be nice to experience something new and "cultural". I must say an interesting example of culture. This is something that Micheal Vick's would like to try I'm sure!


It was full of suprizes and of course blood! Not recommended for those who.... well really I can't recommend it to anyone. That's not to say it wasn't an experience, but it was not the easiest thing to watch at times. Regardless I have watched the Matadors and experienced something truly Mexican.

I hope to get one more post in before we leave so thanks to all those who read the posts and see you when we get back!

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Blogging from Puerto Vallarta

Well, here I am writing a post from the comforts of 25 degree weather. Considering it was about -25 when we left, that's a 50 degree change. Could explain the bizarre lobster-like color I'm turning. I guess I could have listened to Dora, but I prefer to rely on my awesome common sense and genetics. Apparently both failed me today.
Regardless, the weather has been great and the "all-inclusive" is living up to it's name. I don't think this lifestyle can be healthy for extended periods of time... kind of like a diet of bacon. It seems like a good idea but in practice a little less enjoyable on the body and soul. In fact I think they have bacon available for every meal...
We're currently making plans for the week and the girls have got some ideas. Of course so do the boys. The girls have worked out a day trip to a wonderful island called Las Caletas which looks fantastic and the Bro and I were thinking of a night with the Matadors! With any luck we'll keep everyone up to date.
As for postcards, I figure if you email your requests to my account iwaasa (at) gobot (dot) com we will be happy to oblige. So you put in a little effort and we'll do the same between the cerveza!
And for the family to keep tabs on us, we're in room 2219 at the Sol Melia.

Haste la vista!

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Vacation!

Well so long cruel weather! Goodbye -30 with windchill and hello UV index! Well the whole family is packed and ready to go and my brother has his family. We're all off for a week in the sun in Puerto Vallarta at an all-inclusive.

So long!

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