This blog has moved.

Hey everyone,

I apologize for my absence.  It has been a while since I last posted.  I have been busy setting up my new blog.  Please fix your bookmarks to point to http://zendad.net

Thank you

Zen Dad

Our version of the paperless office.

Image courtesy of loca.mama

In our efforts to reduce clutter in our home we are in the process of digitizing everything we can get our hands on.  We first tackled our bills. In the past when we received a bill that we had to pay, we would pay it online, mark the bill as paid and then file it away.  It is rare that we would have to pull that paid bill from the filing cabinet to check something.  If we did we would have to wander up to the office, dig through the file folders to find the correct company, then the correct bill to find the information we needed.  Under the new system, a bill comes in and sits in the physical “inbox” until we pay it.  Upon being paid online we then scan the bill and file it under a bills 2008 folder, a subfolder for the correct company and filename of “company-bill date”, for example, “bell mobility 8-May-08.pdf”.  Now if we need to access this information we don’t even have to get up from the desk or can do it from a laptop in the living room or wherever.

The second thing we attacked was our massive pile of take out menus.  Instead of the clump of take out menus under a pushpin on a bulletin board in our office they exist in a folder on our computer.  The third thing we tackled was our daughter’s ever increasing pile of artwork and such that she creates on a daily basis either here at home or at daycare.  Now we don’t toss everything, we keep the best of the best for a scrapbook.  The others get hung on the refrigerator and photographed.  We now have a photograph of every item of artwork she has created saved in a folder on our computer as a .jpg file that we can look through when we want to and got rid of the daunting pile of colourings and popsicle stick on cardboard crafts. We are slowly taking it further by scanning instruction manuals and pretty much everything we can get our hands on.  In the near future I see a high speed scanner in our future but at present our trusty HP is doing fine.

Now it must be said that this is not solely my own idea.  There is a large movement out there towards a paperless office.  I picked up the idea a while ago on 43 folders.  It starts out slow and develops into a sickness.  I want to digitize everything, store it an encrypted folder on our computer and reduce clutter.  How do you guys reduce paper clutter?  Leave your ideas in the comments.

Regards,
Zen Dad

The babies were spotted today!

Today I got some good shots of the goose babies on the pond behind the house. Enjoy!

There are 4 in total in this family.  I don’t think they will have their yellow fuzz too much longer

We miss the hustle and bustle

Image courtesy of JMike

Here at The Zen Dad I have been developing this blog in my head for quite some time now.  I want to provide “real” content based upon “real” life. Having said that, I have to find a balance because I am a very private person, but I want to share my experiences.  I think I have found a place in my head where both can coexist.
Our daughter (peanut) had a very exciting event in her life happen very recently.  She got to do an extended visit with Nana and Papa for almost 3 weeks! Her grandparents live about six hours north of us by car in Nortern Ontario.  She no doubt is having a blast with her quality time with them.  Her favorite, from what I gathered on our awkward telephone conversation (anyone who’s tried to talk to a three year old on the phone knows what I mean) has been feeding the horses at a farm up the road some carrots.  My wife and I are ecstatic she has had this time away to bond.  Nana and Papa also took our beloved family dog (a boxer-beagle mix named Lacey) north also for some long walks, laying in the sun and a swim in the lake.  A great time is being had by all.

On the other hand we were a little lost in the beginning.  We went from our crazy and hectic household to dead quiet here, well there is the family cat but she doesn’t liven the house up much.  Those of you who are parents say “Enjoy it while it lasts” and “Catch up on your sleep” because when you have two (my wife is pregnant with our second) people are a little less willing to take two for extended periods and with a new baby in the house soon I am sure there are going to be some sleepless nights.  I have managed to catch up on some sleep and start a few projects around the house that have been on my “Honey do” list for a while now.  We even managed to sneak in a fairly romantic dinner for just the two of us at a trendy new café around the corner from our house.

Heres a list (as you are going to learn I love lists) of some things that we’ve accomplished with our free time in peanut’s absence.
• Clean up and thin the herd on peanut’s toys (easier to do when she’s not watching)
• Romantic dinner out
• Make some small preparations for our new baby (only 5 mos. to go)
• Clean up the house
• Exercise
• Photograph all of peanut’s artwork and crafts she does at daycare (more on that in another post)
• Get our “garden” ready for spring.

So I ask you parents, what do you do when you are kidless for extended periods of time?  Please share your tips and tricks in the comments section.
Regards,
Zen Dad

Look who visited the pond behind our house yesterday!

The blue heron made a rare appearance to the pond behind our house to do some fishing.  I managed to grab a few shots, enjoy!

Not just another blog about fatherhood!

Posting #1, always a daunting step.  Ah, but what to write about?  Well, I am going to be posting here the craziness that is my life as a father of a 3 year old little girl and one on the way.  My wife and I both hold down full time jobs and are busy people.  What I can say is that what I have to offer is my collection of crazy stories of parenthood, being a “Dad” all while still being a “Guy”.  I am also big into productivity and “lifehacks” (although I think the word is overused), so you will be seeing some of that kind of stuff also.  I am also a big photography nut and I like to share my photos with people so expect to see some of that too.  Onto my last point, I , as of this very moment, am going to make a whole hearted effort to get my running back on track.  There, I said it out loud and its on screen, no going back now.  After all, I AM a little out of shape and I need to get into the best shape I can to run around after 2 kids.  I am also making a commitment to myself to be in the best shape of my life by the time I am 40 (currently 35).  So there you have it, blog post #1.