Picture stolen from the HPSN Insider, hope they don't mind :-)

Well, it has been a long road but milestone #1 has been cleared. After a relaxing weekend with Joe and Melissa ... and, of course, Krishen it was back to the mines today. Switching gears was a bit rough as I sorted through our logs, notes, and plans ... after five days out of the office doing demos there is a lot of information to capture.

The conference went exceptionally well from my perspective ... the crowd was buzzing with our new offerings - as was our staff. The demo room, where I hung my hat, was packed most of the time as we ran non-stop demo sessions for almost the entire 5 day show. For me it was a chance to step out from behind the curtain and interact with the customers, and I can't help but to take their ideas and insights back to the code.

Even with the conference in full swing, I managed to step out to two hockey games, one with Melissa and Joe on Friday, and one with the gang from STARS mid-week. It was great to hang with the guys from home - and there were plenty from throughout BC and Alberta. As well as from Saskatewan, Ontario, and many other locations throughout Canada. Combined with folks from all around the world and you have quite the party.

Anyways ... work is expected to continue to push forward as we tie on the final bells and whistles. Milestone #2 is on the doorstep.

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At home, we have put the finishing touches on my office as our desk came in. Looks nice ... thanks M! Otherwise, my weekend off consisted of sleeping, watching movies, playing with Joe and chasing a spinning disc through the air ... which my legs are now telling me was something I have not done for a while.

Well, it has been a long time coming ... almost too long. I was getting the itch for some ice, and Joe ... was more than thrilled to come along. For that matter ... Melissa was pretty excited herself.

Dawning the skates and a helmet from christmas, Joe took to the ice ... well, like anyone takes to ice the first time. WoooooooOO!

But we were there to lend a helping hand, and with a little practice he started picking it up. The skates were left dull for this first go and I think that actually slowed him down. He was dragging Mom all over the ice, and managed several strides all on his own. It was great fun for Mom and Dad to watch.

And ... we will just have to see what the future has in store ...

Time together has been much needed, so we made sure to spend it cuddled up on our couch enjoying some fruit, chocolate, and good company. Much deserved, much needed, much appreciated.

So, about that couch ... well it came with a new room. Turns out that while I have been working hard at the office Melissa has been painting and cleaning up our "spare" room. We have a good 6 months (she insists another year) of time before I lose it, so in the mean time - we have added a new couch/day bed and have a new desk on the way. The room is soooo cozy and peaceful ... she really did a wonderful job. Working as a office/tv room combo we enjoyed a movie on the laptop ... guess we either need a bigger TV or a bigger computer monitor .... hmmm :) My birthday is coming up if anyone is curious about what to get me ... either / both would be fine ;)

Hope everyone else enjoyed the 14th as well.

The last few weeks ... stretching on months ... has been insanely busy, but one thing I try to do is spend some quality time with the family. Joe is growing and learning so fast you just need to stop and take a break with him every now and then.