~Day 31~ Camouflage

She does a great job at blending in with her surroundings, especially with all the snow we have this year.

Keep digging, but you'll never get to the bottom of THIS mountain of snow.

Yay! I made it through the first month of 2011! And I didn't miss any days! My goal for February is to keep going and maybe find some more interesting subject matter. At least on weekends!

~Day 30~ Departure

There's my baby, peering out the window as his father is driving away. I wish I had moved a little to the left to recompose (so the antenna from the car was not in front of his face), but since I had to jump into a moving vehicle to avoid being left behind, there just wasn't time. Not that I would mind staying there with him, but I have to work tomorrow. :(

When I left him, I said, "Well, see ya next month". He said, "What, next month!?!" So I said, "I'm pretty sure I won't see you tomorrow and since tomorrow is the 31st, it will probably be next month." Then I guess he was okay with that. Later, babe - keep up the great work! Love you and miss you already!

~Day 29~ Fun and Games

We spent a couple hours at Crystal Palace this evening.

Then, we needed to stop for snacks for movie night. Apparently, we need rugs, too!

~Day 28~ Brothers

It's not often that they are all under the same roof, let alone the same room, so it was good to get them all in the same shot.

And a couple of extras, because I had a lot to choose from today.

Contemplative.

There's a heart on his window.

Yep, this lens does suffer some barrel distortion at the wide end - gives it a cool perspective, though.

~Day 27~ Back Door

There is a cold, cruel world out there just trying to get in. As a matter of fact, it's nearly breaking down our back door. Our deck has all but disappeared under a white mountain. I think we can open our own ski hill pretty soon. Today was another blizzard, another snow day for the kids, another work day for us not-kids, another broken shovel, another harrowing drive home from work...

~Day 26~ Winter Tree

This is the calm before the storm - another one on its way tomorrow.

And, since this is quickly becoming the dog blog, here she is hiding in the snow.

~Day 25~ Snowfall at night

Today was another regular day. Went to work. Came home. And it snowed again.

And this thing just needs constant attention.

~Day 24~ Bowling

Dylan has been wanting to go bowling, so today we went bowling. Then we went to Future Shop, so Justin could buy a new laptop (darn, forgot to take photos of that!)

~Day 23~ Waiting...

... for something to drop, as the food is being prepared overhead.

~Day 22~ Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today is Mom's birthday, so I brought over her card, some flowers and a cake. Here she is, doesn't she look great for... oh, wait, she would only let me put her on the blog if I didn't say how old she is! Anyway, Happy Birthday, Mom! Hope you had a great day!

And a couple more from today - sparkly icicles...

... and Darrin, at the grocery store.

~Day 21~ Work

Well, today I did bring my camera to work. It was crazy hat day, and my creation was quite a success. I got lots of compliments (and a few laughs - I'm sure they were laughing WITH me) on my cute, little sock monkey hat (I have a small sock monkey obsession!) Here's my desk at work, in which you can see the piles of work I have yet to do, my funny hat, and my lovely prize.

And, a couple of me modelling my cool headwear! Turns out my sock monkey is a pretty good photographer. (Self-portraits are hard - trying to get the framing, composition, and focus right and doing it blind. Yes, THAT'S why I rarely do them).

~Day Twenty~ Gamer

Today was such a busy day - sometimes I think I take on too many projects at once! But I am so enjoying this photo a day project, it is a great way to improve your skills and push your creativity. I struggle to find things to shoot each day, because most days are just regular days. Go to work, come home, run errands, do a load of dishes, do a couple of loads of laundry, etc. etc. etc. I would have liked to have my camera with me at work today. In theory, it would be great to always have it with me, but in practicality, that's just not going to happen. However, there was a period of time this afternoon, when I caught a glimpse out of the office windows and the sun was shining whilst the snow was falling (yes, apparently it has to snow EVERY DAY!) It looked like glitter was being sprinkled from the heavens and it was mesmerizing. Anyway, the point of my ramblings, is that I did get a couple of different shots to share today, but it wasn't easy. I spent from six to eight running errands this evening, and, because tomorrow is "Silly Hat Day" at work, my other project for today was to make myself something cool to wear. So, I spent from eight until 12:30 in the morning working on my creation. Perhaps, it will be featured here tomorrow. Stay tuned.

For today, here's my gamer, engrossed in his game.

And here's one that kinda shows the glittery properties of today's snowfall.

~Day Nineteen~ Snow Dog

Today was quite a mess! Lots of rain, which turned to snow as the day progressed. The roads were very slippery on both the morning and evening commute. The plow filled the driveway with a huge pile of slush, which made for very heavy shovelling. The only one that likes this weather is the dog. So, here's Sapphire Storm - with the toy she polished off, quite handily, a few minutes after this photo was taken (whilst I performed said shovelling.)

~Day Eighteen~ Uneventful

Today was an uneventful day. Went to work. Worked. Came home. Dylan and I did go to Walmart this evening for a couple of things. Or maybe I should say WA-MART. Or L-MART. Or WAL-MRT. It seems rare to ever see a Walmart with all the letters lit. Shame they can't afford light bulbs. I feel bad for them. Dylan bought some composite cables. I bought, bread, laundry detergent, and, ironically, light bulbs.

~Day Seventeen~ Date Night

Darrin finally got a night off tonight, his first since January 3rd, so we got to go out on a date night! First we went to Jungle Jim's to eat. We had a great time there - chatting and laughing - it was so great to reconnect! Then we went to the movies and saw "The Dilemma". It was such a great night - we so love spending time together - I just wish it happened more often.

~Day Sixteen~ Sackville

I had to take Tyson back to school today. There are some big, beautiful old homes right by his house. This one is my favourite.

I really like this photo, too, and it would have been my first choice if the house was in the background of this one.

~Day Fifteen~ Popcorn and Movie Night

Saturday nights in our house are usually movie night - with snacks, of course! So, we tried out our new popcorn machine for the first time. Isn't it cute? As usual, we had trouble picking a movie to watch. There were some "on demand" ones that were up for consideration - "Cop Out" or "The Uninvited" - were a couple of them. But eventually it was decided that we would watch "12 Rounds"; a BD that Darrin had picked up during the Boxing Day sales. I, of course, would have enjoyed "Eclipse", or "The Time Traveler's Wife" or something of that nature, but it seems that I am severely outnumbered in this household. At least I managed to stay awake throughout the entire film, a feat rarely accomplished -Dylan was very impressed!

Snack making time!

~Day Fourteen~ Dorm

When I got home from work tonight, there was a Skype message from Tyson waiting for me. He wanted to come home for the weekend! Yay! (Just because he forgot his safety glasses at home and needs them for his labs doesn't mean that he didn't really want to come home because he misses us me!) So, it was off to Mount Allison for a spur of the moment trip, but I'm soooooo glad to have him home for the weekend!

The lighting in his room is kinda harsh (especially in the bottom image), and my flash batteries had died, but he's just so cute that I couldn't resist posting a couple extras.

~Day Thirteen~ Shovelling

Okay, so the word of the day is shovelling. The kids were lucky enough to get a snow day (adults never get those - nobody cares about our safety), so Dylan was kind enough to help us out. After about 45 minutes (and a small patch of cleared driveway), Darrin arrived home from work. It's always good to share, so I thought I'd "let" him have a turn with the shovel. I took advantage of the break to grab a couple of quick shots, then I had to get ready for work. (Oops, I was a little late!) Wasn't easy getting there, though, got stuck twice. Not only do the plows fill in the end of the driveways, but they fill in the end of the side streets, too. God, I HATE winter!

~Day Twelve~ Marks

Justin got his marks yesterday, but I only learned of it today because he was "too busy". I wonder if I hadn't happened to ask about them, how long he would have been "too busy" before showing me. Seems that he does well at computer programming. And 100% in Photoshop CS5!?! Let me use it boy, and teach me all it's magic!

Way to go J! We're so proud of you! Love ya!

~Day Eleven~ Seventeen

Today was all about Dylan - he's now seventeen years old! Unfortunately for him, he had to go back to school today. When I picked him up after school, I asked him if he had had a good day and he told me it was terrible! Of course, he feels that way about school pretty much every day. Then he told me that most of the day was not so bad, there were just a couple of parts of the day that he deemed terrible. Once Justin got home from school, we all went out to supper. Dylan chose KFC, so that's where we went. We didn't have a big celebration, just quiet and simple, he's pretty low key. After supper, he opened his presents and we had some cake and ice cream. I was sad, though, that Tyson wasn't able to be here, to share the day with us. We considered going to a movie, but Dylan was too tired! He had to stay awake all day today, after getting used to being able to sleep whenever he so desired.

So Dylan, I hope I was able to make your day special, but I could never make it nearly as special as you make all of mine. I love you, baby! You're a great kid to have! Happy Birthday!