December 23 -- 4 miles, -34C
December 24-27 -- Off
December 28 -- 3.5 miles, Treadmill

Christmas was a *lot* of fun in our house this year.

Two moments from this year stand out for me. The first was Gareth's response to the note Santa left in place of the shortbread, chocolate milk and reindeer food left behind. Upon seeing that the letter was signed, "Love, Santa and Rudolph," he ran down the hallway, yelling, "Grandpa, Rudolph is real!"

The second was the two of them coming downstairs to see what was under the tree. Naomi saw the doll and doll activity centre (no gender bias -- she adores dolls, even though she has access to all sorts of non-gender-specific toys), and ran across the room to grab the doll in a bear hug. Gareth, however, came down and immediately was looking for the gift that he and Grandma had picked out for Frances and I at Tompkins Hardware, because he was so excited over it -- no thought or attention at all as to what he got from Santa. It was one of those "Maybe we're not such bad parents" moments. Of course, seconds later, he discovered the Rescue Hero Command Centre (Santa was, I'm sure, cursing as he put that toy together), and all thoughts of anything else were banished from his mind.

Other than that, we are and drank too much good stuff, and it was fscking cold -- minus-43 C on Christmas Eve day. The grandparents are now on their way to meet and greet the extended family in Winnipeg with their newest granddaughter (Alexsis). Sadly, they'll also be attending the funeral for my wonderful great-aunt, Eva Rowe, who passed away Christmas Eve at the age of 97.

December 18 -- Off, sick
December 19 -- Off
December 20 -- 4 miles, road run, -8C
December 21 -- 4.5 miles, treadmill
December 22 -- Off

Still fighting off the cold, but I'm struggling on. Mom and Dad are in Emo now for Christmas, after a brief, harrowing and RETARDED side trip to Toronto for Alexis's baptism (spawn of Lerrin and Kim). Today, I have to do four miles -- and it's -34C, plus wind chill.

In the spirit of the commercial bonanza of the holidays for toy makers, courtesy of Slashdot we have TV Cream's Top 100 Toys, an awesome flashback to my childhood. Anyone in the 27-34 age range will recognize many of these artifacts of the 70s and 80s. Fun to look through while you're waiting for the last half-day of work before the holidays kick in.

I've got a backlog of training to get up, and, with Christmas, Gareth's birthday today, and suffering from both sleep deprivation and a nasty headcold after picking mom and dad up in Winnipeg yesterday, I'm done:

December 10 -- 3.5 miles, road run, -8C
December 11 -- 3 miles, road run, -12C (morning running sucks)
December 12 -- Off (slightly tight around the eyes after Fort Frances Times Christmas Party)
December 13 -- 4 miles, treadmill
December 14 -- 3.5 miles, road run, -8C
December 15 -- Off
December 16 -- Off
December 17 -- Off, sick

Gareth turned five today, as noted above. New hockey skates awaited him when he got up this morning (what five-year-old needs $100 skates? Sheesh...).
After opening them up and trying them on, what was his response? "You should have gotten me a toy."
Ahh, the honesty of a five-year-old. I've got to try that at work sometime.

December 3 -- 3 miles, road run, -4C
December 4 -- Off
December 5 -- 3 miles, road run, -10C
December 6 -- 3 miles, road run, -10C
December 7 -- 4 miles, treadmill
December 8 -- 3.5 miles, road run, -5C
December 9 -- Off

I gotta do a better job of blogging this stuff.

Today, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that government plans to allow same-sex marriage were constitutional.

This is a great day. I'm revelling in the sound of neocon heads exploding all over Canada. The collective heterosexual population has screwed up marriage in Canada so badly, why shouldn't same-sex couples have the the same opportunity?

I truly believe in the sanctity and solemnity of marriage as an institution. The trouble is, it seems no one takes marriage as a serious commitment any more -- look at the divorce rates in Canada. Almost 1 in 2.

Unfortunately, this once again is a case of not being pro-marriage; it's being anti-gay.

December 1 -- 3.5 miles, road run, -10C
December 2 -- Day Off
Okay, stop reading now if you're easily disgusted.

Gone? Ok, good.

Frances and I woke up at 2:30 this morning to a certain almost-five-year-old crying beside the bed.
"I have a nosebleeeed," wails the child.
My response was (approximately):
"Grbleh?"
I hear Frances get up, and exclaim, "There's blood everywhere!"
That'll wake you up in a hurry. I open my eyes, and survey the trail of drops of blood that runs from Gareth's room, across the hall, around the side of the bed, back into the bathroom...
Crap. Well, no, actually, blood; but you get the point.
As I'm wearily pouring vinegar on the bloodspots, and helping Gareth to quell the drops from his nose, I ask, "How did it start, pal? Were you picking it?"
"Yes," was the tearful reply.
Exasperated, I ask the fateful question, "Why did you do that?"

"Because I was hungry."

Funniest. Grossest. Gareth Story. Ever.