Well not really, but this work at home lifestyle means I can leave when I want and do what I want..when I say! While most people were busy heading off to work, we were making our way to spend the day at Canada’s Wonderland to test their latest coaster, Behemoth!

Though I’d like to say that the work at home lifestyle allows me full control over when I can do “stuff”, I still have to work with Caron’s schedule. She’s a 9-5er, plus she takes the 1 car we own to work, so we usually plan stuff on her days off.

Over the next few days I’ll try to post some pics… in the meantime, here’s a short video I made while on Behemoth.

Here are some quick stats for you coaster fans…

* Type: Steel — Sit Down
* Status: Open
* Date: April 2008
* Cost: $27M est.
* Manufacturer: Bolliger & Mabillard
* Model: Hypercoaster
* Height: 70 m (230 ft)
* Drop: 70 m (230 ft)
* Length: 1,620.9 m (5,318 ft)
* Top Speed: 125 km/h (77 mph)
* Duration: 3:10
* Capacity: 1,545 riders per hour
* Inversions: 0
* Elements: 75-degree drop, double helix, 5 camelback hills

So my Oranje lost yesterday to a superior Russian team at the European Championships (soccer). They were outclassed in every department of the game and sorry to say, out-coached as well. It’s as if they didn’t take the opposition seriously and never really prepared for them. We all know what happens when you don’t plan and prepare - FAILURE!

BTW, nothing beats the satisfaction one gets when your daughter (any child) takes interest in something you absolutely love. I was down in the family room watching the Italy vs Spain game today when under the cranked-up volume I usually watch the games… I heard Kieana cheering upstairs in the living room. I could not believe it, she was watching soccer! AND cheering for the same team as I was! As far as I knew, she hated soccer and had no interest in it. Let’s see if I could finally convince her to start making some extra cash by blogging. Maybe she can make enough to send me on a trip to the next world cup

Wacky weather!

The day started off beautiful. Sunny and not too hot - wish I had the time to go to a park and relax today. It was so nice I started to do some gardening in the front of the house and scheduled in doing the back yard in the evening. Around 2.30 pm or so, the place got dark and we started to experience heavy rain, thunder and lightning. Then Indy ran into the room where I was and said “dad come check this”. I could hear a loud, cross between rattle and pounding noise outside.

Here’s a video clip we made…

Yup! A massive wave of hail just rolled in and pounded the crap out of everything. Including our car, which I have to go check now to see if there was any damage.

Kieana watching soccer (and cheering) and a massive hail storm. I hope there’s nothing else wacky in store for us.

BTW, not as if I counting, but this was the 7th severe storm we’ve had so far this spring. Global changes?

Winters were brutal when I first started working from home. My office was located in the mud room of our rental townhouse, since the basement was unfinished and it was the only space where I could set up a desk. For those of you not familiar with a mud-room, it’s small room you access from the outside of your home (kinda like a front door), but it leads to a room where one can remove shoes etc. Basically to keep all the muddy stuff there, so it doesn’t get into the house. So there’s no heat vents, plugs etc. I had to rewire for electricity and phone and the space was VERY cramped. Canadian winters can get very cold from Jan through Feb so I had to relocate very vast.

I then set up a desk in our living room, but that soon became a problem - how can you work while the girls were watching Barney and friends? I then moved the desk up into one of the girl’s room, but this meant I could only work when they were in school or outside playing. Nap time, meant no-work time for me.

Things were looking up and affiliate cheques were coming in, so we spent the money to create an office in the basement for me. Finally, I would have my own space, even though we were spending the money to build a room in a house that was not ours. At least I could shut noise out, I wasn’t in anyone’s way or space and everyone knew when I was down there, I was working - BE QUIET! Tell that to a new born, a toddler and one in preschool.

Today not only do I have an amazing office that Caron finished for me last year (yea, she did a great job) but being able to look out a window and see the garden is so much joy. Ever-so-often, in the warm months I see hummingbirds, butterflies and all the amazing flowers.

Deciding where to put your home office? One suggestion - choose a room with a nice bright window. I worked a couple years in that basement office and it became depressing with the lack of natural light.

Here’s a neat little video about setting up your home office.

Everyone needs a break, whether you are a stay-at-home mom, the president of a company, self-employed, or an employee. If you have vacation time coming to you, even if it is only a 2-3 day break, pack a suitcase and get out of town! Staying at home during vacation breaks is fine for some people who understand how to relax, but often times workaholic-type individuals tend to slave away when at home tending to yard work or household repairs.

I’m still learning to use the new version of Wordpress and can’t find a way to embed this video., so here’s the link to it.

This guy could sure use a nice long vacation.

I asked Caron yesterday if she reads the interviews I’ve published in the past and her response was… “nah, I don’t read the posts like that, it’s much better when the blog was a bit more personal“. Well, if reality shows teach us one thing… people love looking at other people’s life. The success, the fights, the hardships, hope people cope and lifestyle. Just look at some of the top shows around..

- we have a family of little people (not sure if that is the politically correct word to use) who’s life is documented with a camera crew.

- there’s one with a family with a bunch of kids..something like 8 kids I think. Yup the camera and crew is also following them around.

- we have cameras following parking ticket officers, the check-in counter at the airport and how about those weight loss and make over shows?

- how about the one with those crab fishermen?

- don’t forget the house flipping ones.

The freaking list is long! Next time you turn on the TV, pay close attention at how many shows there are that does not require a script or over-paid actors. If there are any producers reading this, I have a show I’d like to push. Picture this for a moment, a family of 5 (I’m the only guy) and you follow us around as we vacation. Cruises, all inclusive resorts, extreme adventures… trust-me - you’ll be amazed at the drama when we travel.

Back to the topic… losing touch with your readers as you try to move away from being too personal on your blog. One of the blogs I read on a daily basis (more so now more than ever) is Johnchow.com. Lately JC is posting videos on his blog about his adventures as he travel trough Asia. Yup! I’m hooked.. I can’t wait for the next video to get published. What is JC up to now.

My aim is to give the blog a bit of a personal touch as I did before, but continue with some of the more serious posts, dealing with work from home issues and the whole lifestyle associated with having a homebased business.

Here are some pics from the yearly street sale (yard/garage sale) we attend every year. Usually I just go for the walk and watch people purchase other people’s rubbish, but this year we decided to stock up on books for summer reading. Hey! at 50 cents a book, you really can’t go wrong!

Do you agree with me on the whole, giving the blog a personal feel? Leave me your comments.