Throwing snowballs is fun and all, but really - we're all done with winter and the cold and stuff. Today the boys and I went down to the playground to get out of the house and stretch our legs. We can get into the park now - it's not completely encased in snow, but as you can see, there's still plenty of the white stuff, and its kind of icy snow, like it's melted and frozen a lot.
Funny that, considering the weather lately.
So yeah, the 3 of us went down to the park, and we played on the slides, the bouncy thing, the pirate ship, and all the other good stuff in the frozen wasteland that is the community playground. Oh, we also had a good look at the still very frozen spray park, and longed for it to be open.
Even at 9c and 12" of snow, we're thinking of swimming. Goofy kids.
The first picture is of Riley throwing a snowball at me, and if you look close enough, you can actually SEE the snowball in the air. He missed, as usual, but he's been getting better with his aim and reactions to catching something thrown at him. We should try tossing around a softball this summer for a bit!
The other picture is of Lukha, who had one heck of a time walking through this snow. Since it had been walked on in places, but not others, it was really difficult to find good footing through it, and I was getting pretty tired trying to work my way through the playground. Lukah's solution is as elegant as it gets: 4x4 mode!
The snow is gone from the roof of the house, and there are parts of the yard poking through where we had cleared it through the winter for the kids to play in. Now we just need to deal with the snow mold.
Holly and I spent a nice evening out at West Edmonton Mall (nice? WEM? Ha!). Many bra's were bought (for Holly, of course), and dinner was had. It was nice, but I'm really tired of having dinner in the dark. I mean, what gives? I go out with my lovely wife to spend an evening with her, and maybe to talk maybe not, and we can barely see each other, let alone the menu. This will be two date nights in a row that are poorly lit.
I'm not looking for a spotlight at dinner. I get mood lighting, but I would also appreciate not having to light my way with the glow from my Blackberry.
So anyhow, dinner was nice, bra shopping was all right. I had to laugh a little bit at my gender colleagues though. In the store we went to, there is a large open area with a bunch of underwear and such outside of the fitting rooms. Most men were out here waiting (or outside the store, which had an ample supply of seating.. Good on you, WEM). So anyhow, I'm standing there, looking around, somewhat taking an idea of what other options there are for birthdays, Christmas, etc. As I stood there watching, a couple came up, and the woman went in to try her stuff on, and the man would loiter in this open area and immediate pull out his cell phone. Next couple comes up, same thing. I got to thinking.. Maybe have some stuff targeted for men there? We're in a lingerie store, after all, and most of the marketing is targeted at men wanting their women to wear their products. So why not capitalize on it? And I'm not talking posters on the wall with a massive selection of different coloured underwear and bras, but like put a PERSON there engaging me if I have seen the latest PJ set they have or whatever. Anyhow.
After we got home, Holly and I got to discussing how this store could make a small fortune off a variation of a personal shopper service. For example.. Holly will often send me the exact item from the website of something she wants. I've been known to print that page off, go into the store, find the nearest associate and ask her (rarely men.. More on that in a minute) for that exact product. This is, in my opinion, a win-win: I get what I want quickly, without having to browse around a lingerie store looking like a perv, and the sales associate makes a quick sale without having to really "work" at the sale. Maybe they didn't have the right colour, or an exact style.. Which makes it even easier, but it's an opportunity to up-sell me. Don't have that exact robe? Here's one just like it, but it's made of Tauntaun instead of Terry for just $10 more.
This is how I shop for Holly. It saves me from screwing up, and she gets what she wants.
Take that a step further, and a lot of these sites have the function for visitors to create their own wishlists which can be conveniently emailed to an individual at a birthday, Christmas, etc.
So why can't I go into a store, like this lingerie store we were at tonight, and find the nearest sales associate, and say "Hi, I'd like to buy something for my wife. She has a wishlist here, and her email address is <blah>". Sales associate gets the wishlist, finds out what I'm willing to spend, and suggests something at the top end of that range. Any sales associate worth her salt (again, sorry with the gender specificity, but really - would you be helped by a man when you're buying panties? Nah, didn't think so) knows what's worth what, and furthermore, what accessories go with that. She's suggesting I get a pair of yoga pants that are on Holly's list? You know, there's a great sports bra that we carry too, and oh look, since I'm using the profile that she created, we already know what size she needs.
And me, as the dumb male, armed with a credit card, doesn't have to do anything. I just show up, spend my money, and get out of the store so we're all a bit happier.
We also went into lulu to get some new pants and a top for Holly's Yoga class, which starts on Monday. Here's a first for me: there were guys working there. Had a guy greet us at the door, and I have to admit that I was kind of shocked. There was also some guy running around putting stuff away from the changing area.
Unrelated, that stupid Tiny Wings games is completely enthralling. I have no idea that Holly had left the change room until I looked over my shoulder (after losing on level 4, again) and realizing that she wasn't there anymore. Whups. Nothing makes you feel quite so dumb as hanging out in the Lulu changing area playing on an iPhone while your better half is waiting to go.
Through all of this, my parents had come over to watch the kids, and as we found out when we got home, Lukah had managed to convince my father to go out for a walk after dinner. Which is odd, just being out of routine, but fine none the less - they don't get to spend a lot of time together like Riley does, so it's nice to hear that they all go out and play.
My bike is almost ready to go for Monday… I calibrated the derailleurs, for all they needed, and fussed around with the breaks. Front brakes had a small cabling problem - as in the nut that holds the cable to the break calipers wasn't tight enough, so as soon as I tried to stop, the cable slipped and then I had no more breaking… the back breaks will need some new pads, I think, as once is worn at an angle, almost all the way down to the plate, while the other is still pretty well odd. I swapped the pads around, which will get me a bit more life out of them, but I will need to get them replaced sooner rather than later.
Otherwise, it was a pretty uneventful day. Family nap was had by all, and I more or less neglected any real household chores that I should do (except the dishes.. Never neglect the clean dishwasher and sink full of dirty dishes).
Tomorrow, we're off to see the grandparents again, and maybe out for a run depending on how we're all feeling.
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