The Week That Was… October 4th -10th, 2015.

Last updated on October 20th, 2015 at 09:23 pm

Welcome back for the second installment of The Week That Was…. Long weekends are long for a reason—between two Thanksgivings, surprise birthday parties and everything we do to keep up with Little Man’s limitless energy levels while he’s awake, squeezing blogging time in is virtually impossible. Anyone in their right mind would call it a weekend, kiss their kids goodnight, and turn in for the weekend themselves.

But take it from someone who knows—few of us family bloggers are in our right minds!

That said, here’s a second helping of The Week That Was and the random that kept me going as I continued through October!

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Sunday, October 4th

If I ever have delusions of a grand #BloggerLife and start getting too big for my britches, it’ll be the weekends that knock the sense back into me, reminding me that I’m but a mere mortal, needing others’ help to get through this life.

We spent much of our Sunday either at church or at home accompanied by a good friends as she played with Little Man, his parents too wiped to keep him entertained.

The weekends are a time where the #BloggerLife often does one no good, email devoid of pitches and everything in your schedule done just like you did before working with brands was a “thing”—if you don’t have your life in order, these are the times where everything around you serves as strong reminders to get your act together!

Monday, October 5^th

Okay, real talk? Going an entire work day without a proper meal is never a good idea.

Monday found me in full-on grind mode as I struggled to hit some deadlines in multiple areas of my life. It was the kind of day where you felt your hand cramping from the sheer amount of writing you did, but for someone who starts his ideas on paper before committing them to anything digital, I’ll admit feeling  good going home with the bag a little lighter and significant progress made on some things that’d bothered me for a bit.

I found myself in the middle of Jungle after work to make the walk from Yorkdale subway station to Tuxedo Royale, where I finally got the ball rolling on the suit for my brother’s wedding in just a few weeks! Now all I have to worry about is writing the speech my brother and I need to give, and everything should be solid.

We should also note that knowing a meal was waiting at home, I denied myself the Popeye’s I spied at Dufferin/Ranee, though it would’ve been delicious.

See? I can make grown-up decisions!

Tuesday, October 6th

Some days just aren’t meant to be exciting — especially the ones where you neglect to sleep and walk around in a daze!

Tuesday was a taking care of business kind of day, narrowing down the loose ends in my life and simplifying the empire of clutter I’ve accumulated in my years.

There was some deviation from my routine, sure—I stopped in to see my Dad during lunch so I could give him a Butterball gift certificate for the Thanksgiving turkey, and I bumped into an old friend I hadn’t seen since we were expecting our first son—but it was a day that had me looking forward to flopping face-first into bed more than anything else!

Wednesday, October 7th

Wednesday saw more hustle as I worked to clear through all the training I had to facilitate at work (note—I’m really not a fan of delivering training), but trust the #BloggerLife to keep me sane in the days that might prove horribly dull otherwise!

Seems that Sarah and I found ourselves invited to Willow’s Eat to the Beat gala at Roy Thomson Hall for a little date night to try food from some of the best chefs this city has to offer, all in support of the fight against breast and hereditary cancer! I’ll definitely share more in an upcoming entry, but if you’re interested in joining us, I’m giving two tickets away—a $350 value! All you need to do is enter via the widget below!

Also common on the days we drag our heels is the hope that some retail therapy will lift our spirits, I hit up the CF Toronto Eaton Centre to cop a new toque and belt from Banana Republic, constantly making wardrobe tweaks to keep it fresh. But after finding out their 40% off sale didn’t apply to the 100% merino wool headwear I’d been looking for, I hit The Children’s Place and got something for Little Man instead.

All’s well that ends well when you look that fly.

Thursday, October 8th

There’re plenty of days where I lament my email inbox, thinking how amazing it’d be if I could go to all the things and get involved with every pitch that comes my way. For example, the team at Charming Media have been gracious and invited me to several runway shows for World MasterCard Fashion Week, but with Sarah’s hectic work schedule and a son who’s ever more aware when I’m absent, I often choose to stay home and handle the family over many of the places you’d find my social medialite ilk.

I mean, it’s not so bad—plenty still happens in Casa de Palmer regardless of whether I can paint the town as red as I used to a few years back—rumour has it that I’ll get a photo credit in the Toronto Star, with a portrait photo I took back in 2013 getting used in a feature the paper will put out soon!

You also never know where the things you do today will re-emerge tomorrow, with Udemy reaching out to tell me about a new course they’re offering to help people get into Adobe Photoshop Lightroom!

For those who don’t know, I’ve been into Adobe since Photoshop 5, experimenting with the tools they offer in realizing my creative vision digitally. When I started getting  serious about photography, investing in Lightroom with the money I’d cobbled together from a birthday was the best decision I made to keep organized.

So if Udemy wants you learning a tool that’ll help you find old photos easier, help them look their best, and take advantage of the plethora of tools packed inside, I’m all for it*!

Friday, October 9th

By Friday I was already set to tap out—I even declared that if by any chance my boss decided not to show up, I was turning around and working from home, I had so little left to give!

But the day proved easy enough to get through, the skeleton crew in the office far less demanding than the usual groups I deal with, and I made it my mission to get home, unwind, and regroup for the ridiculous weekend promised ahead.

But it’s in those moments of calm that you often find the most unexpected things!

Some computer cleanup reintroduced me to some voice posts I’d recorded by phone back in 2003, “all young and naive” like Drake might put it, pretty fresh out of high school and trying to find my place in the world.

And funnily enough, I had another blast from the past waiting at home—mail from the alma mater I never actually graduated, but still consider a huge part of my upbringing with the five years I’d spent there!

Things like this take me back to those days and make me want to reconnect with old friends to say what’s up—I guess visiting aPOCalypse now would be a solid first step.

Saturday, October 10th

It wasn’t until writing this post that I fully appreciated why we finished the week so exhausted, doing what we could to shift into weekend mode.

The daytime was standard, filled with errands, swimming lessons and trips to the playground to keep Little Man entertained, but with Sarah’s brother babysitting, it was at night where Saturday really came alive!

We were happily surprised by Meghan’s turnaround time over at Olive and Ivy Photography, narrowing the 4-week completion window for photos to a mere 7 days. The photos turned out splendidly, with several of them gracing my Facebook and Twitter as I continue embracing a lifestyle and role that’s far more about the family around me than Casey the Individual.

We polished the night off at Terroni, attending a surprise party for my best friend’s fiancée as she hit a milestone birthday right before Thanksgiving!

It was a good night spent catching up with people I don’t see nearly enough, and appreciating the careful typography drawn in chalk on the many casks in their basement, but maybe most importantly—making a new connect with a Harry Rosen Associate Manager on the city’s west side, which is probably the most dangerous thing of all!

May my wallet prove bountiful to bear the brunt of what’s to come.

(P.S.—food was decent, too—the Focu Meu was a good choice, but I recommend putting chili flakes on your pizza choice to really bring the flavour out!)

This week also marked the end of Subway Canada’s Carl’s Crew challenge, an end that sadly saw me no better off than I’d been when I started. What I learned about myself this go-around is that I simply keep myself far too busy to fit everything in my life, and too often, fitness is the first thing to go.

But the program did help many of my readers take a good look at their health goals, so it’s good to know that some good came of all my blundering ?

And my sister-in-law got engaged, so hey—looks like the Danforth East Palmers are hitting Mexico City sometime next year!

Dear 2016—you’re looking to be epic.

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And so wraps up another week in the life of Casey E. Palmer, always finding some way to keep me on my toes, though not always in the ways I’d like.

As I close out the year, I’ve only got success on my mind—let’s see just how far this winding path goes!

Until the next time,

–case p.

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*For further details on Udemy and all it can offer, you can contact Molly Elizabeth at molly.elizabeth@udemy.com or visit udemy.com!