The website is up!!

JoeandJill.ca is back up!! Lots of new features.

Click on the blue pen at the top, and it will take you to the blogs. All my past blogs are there, and from now on I'll be blogging there. When reading the blog, you'll have to click on "read more" to see the entire blog for the day.

The film strip is pictures of course. I've loaded up lots of new ones, including Vancouver, July, and August, which has Martin's birthday and our trip to Redang.

The green book is Joe's "book". It will probably come along as fast as his blogs.

The blue person is "about us", and the yellow phone is "contact us". You can email me, Joe, Oliver or Martin.

Then, if you wish to become a "user" contact Joe for permission and you'll be able to see our calendar. And on the home page, if you look to the right, you'll see our "twitter" status, which is similar to facebook status.

I hope you enjoy! And thank you Blogger for the good times.

Monday Craft Update

Knitting

Did about 5 rows on the back of Marysa's sweater.

Finished a baby ball.


Cross-stitch
Ironed Lightning McQueen. Decided not to wash after the debacle with the Snow Family. Started stitching a Christmas Winnie the Pooh for Basil (she likes cutesy things). Magazine said it should only be 13 hours. And yes, if you think I'm procrastinating on starting Martin's stocking, you would be 100% right.

Crochet
Nothing.

Photography / videography
Going to work on the website now. The goal is to release this week. Joe doesn't have it working properly in Internet Explorer. So just get Firefox, so he can release the darn thing.

Declutter
Nothing.

Update on Joe and Jill

I always do updates on Oliver and Martin. I thought you would like an update on us.

Joe
Joe is busy looking after the computers, they seem to be failing in succession. First the serve got upgrade (we now have a bazillion terabytes of space). Then the TVPC went on the fritz. Then the Sony laptop got recalled, fixed, screwed up the wireless, and then fixed again.

He's been taking his power boat license course this week. So now he knows how to navigate. I say that will be a handy skill until he buys the GPS.

Jill
I've been busy stitching, so now I'm on a low. I always need a breather before starting a new project, as I find it daunting. But I can't put off Martin's stocking any longer if I want it for his second Christmas. Stitch 'n Bitch is going really well.

I'm still exercising (aren't you proud of me?). I bought some resistance bands and small hand weights. I actually think I'm seeing some progress.

I'm also going to start going to Chick Flick with the Canadian Club.

Financial Markets - Goodwill

From www.nytimes.com:
With little notice, regulators at four agencies that oversee the nation’s banks and savings associations on Monday and Tuesday proposed a significant change in accounting rules to bolster banks and encourage widespread industry consolidation by making them more attractive to prospective purchasers. The regulators and the Bush administration have decided to resort to further loosening of the accounting rules to try to get the industry through problems that some experts have attributed in large part to years of deregulation.

The action by the four banking agencies provides more favorable accounting treatment of so-called good will, an intangible asset that reflects the difference between the market value and selling price of a bank. The move is similar to a step taken in the midst of the savings-and-loan crisis that helped many institutions in the short run.

____________
I'm not an accountant, but I do not think this is a good move. Goodwill is not a true asset, it is basically the amount of money you overpay for a purchase, in essence the amount you pay for the brand name. In insurance risk based capital ratios, goodwill must be deducted from the amount of capital you can use in the ratio.

Also, in today's markets what really is the selling price of the entity? How can you measure it? I think balance sheets will be overstated in the near term. And once they have put this in, it will be difficult to change it.

Plus it is not consistent with the IFRS coming in, which is all fair value principled.

But this is my humble opinion, we will see what happens.

Financial Markets

Wow. The financial markets are certainly interesting these past couple of days. It's like watching 9/11 but being financial markets instead. The question really is where will it end? I don't think it's over yet. People will not be looking at financial companies and rating companies the same for the near to medium future.

From www.nytimes.com

Under the plan, the Fed will make a two-year loan to A.I.G. of up to $85 billion and, in return, will receive warrants that can be converted into common stock giving the government nearly 80 percent ownership of the insurer, if the existing shareholders approve. All of the company’s assets are being pledged to secure the loan. Existing stockholders have already seen the value of their stock drop more than 90 percent in the last year. Now they will suffer even more, although they will not be totally wiped out. The Fed was advised by Morgan Stanley, and A.I.G. by the Blackstone Group.

Fed staffers said that they expected A.I.G. would repay the loan before it comes due in two years, either through the sales of assets or through operations.

Oliver and Martin

Hi!!!!!

Oliver at tae kwon do. He did well at his first paid class. We were able to get him into the costume (with some cajoling, but he put it on). At first he didn't participate much, but he didn't run to us either. And then they brought out the obstacle course. He LOVED that. He was first in line and he kept cutting in line to do it more. They had to crawl, then run between pylons, jump over some small pads, and then do a punch. He was pretty good at it to.

Martin is another water baby. We had him in (and around) the pool for an hour each day of the weekend. He goes underwater and comes up smiling, and not sputtering at all. He has no issues getting his face wet. He also loves to play in the outdoor showers (but funny enough, he isn't crazy about the shower in the bath).

Go read my craft post. But I thought I'd do another post, as I know some people (who are in Paris right now!!) are needing a grandson fix.

Monday Craft Update

Knitting
Nothing.

Cross-stitch
Finished!!! I just went and checked, I started May 19th. I still need to wash and frame.

Crochet
Finished the octopus, which Oliver named, Oliver the Octopus.

Photography / videography
Put up the rest of the vacation pictures (realizing we didn't take any pictures of Julia & Frazz), so Montreal & Vancouver. Don't know where Joe hid rest of the pictures. Besides, website isn't up yet, so nothing for you to see yet.

Declutter
Did some organizing of baby toys, but didn't get rid of anything.

Amazing Race Asia

Finally, all the reality TV shows are coming back. Last night was the premier of Amazing Race: Asia. It's supposed to be the "toughest race yet". Well, they are in season 3, so it's not like it is hard to beat. The teams are interesting, the locations are beautiful, and watching people eat deep fried bugs is always a good time.

TV: The Tudors

Did I tell you about my latest obsession? Lana can attest to you that when I decide to like something, I really really like it. My latest is The Tudors. I've read several of the Philippa Gregory books, and I've downloaded season 1, of the Showtime show, "The Tudors". It's really good. It helps too that Henry VII, is a total hottie. I'm almost done season one, and have to wait until December until season 2 comes out on DVD (hint hint Paulina, buy it for Joe to give to me for Christmas!).

In season 1 it is the time period where he first meets Anne Boyeln, similar to the books. You have to concentrate quite a bit to watch though, but the costumes and scenery are excellent. It's a lot of characters to keep track of, but I think I'm doing okay. It's really just a big soap opera, and I've been following soaps since I was in utereo.

Monday Craft Update

Not a great week, as did nothing Monday (on plane back from Hong Kong and watched the Sex & the City movie instead), Wednesday (preparing for a speech on Thursday), Thursday (work dinner), and Friday (party at the complex).

Knitting

Nothing.

Cross-stitch
Continued with the outlining of Lightning McQueen. Did about 3 hours. It's my usual, "I'm done 90% and I'm running out of steam, and now it's just a big slog". Maybe I don't like outlining as much as I think I do, as I always bog down in this part. But I will carry on.

Crochet
Making a little octopus, with the yarn bought at Shall we Knit, on Knit in Public day. I've made the body nad 7 out of 8 legs.

Photography / videography
Nothing. BUT Joe is working on getting the website up. He still hasn't told me where he's put the pictures though.

Declutter
Got rid of some of the "baby's first year" books. Baby stuff is the easiest decluttering, so I'm doing that. Everything else just seems overwhelming.

Thomas & Friends: Live on Stage!!

Yesterday, we went and saw Thomas & Friends Live! On Stage in "Thomas Saves the Day"

It is a live show, featuring Thomas, Percy and Diesel. There is much singing and dancing, and of course the trains. Frankly, they could have had the trains a little more and less singing and dancing. Joe barely stayed awake. But when Thomas came on stage, Oliver jumped up and yelled "Thomas! Thomas! Thomas" while running around in a circle in front of his seat. Oliver liked it and that's what really matters.

Update on Oliver and Martin

First off, I apologize for no pictures. Joe's added new servers and I have no idea where the pictures are. But good news is the website should be back soon. Bad news, no new pictures until I know where they are!

Oliver
Oliver did another Tae Kwon Do lesson this morning. It went much much better, so we have signed him up for lessons. It looks quite fun, and will be good for him. We have moved him into a group swimming lesson, with 2 other boys here at the complex. That's going well, and will be easier on the pocketbook.

He's becoming more and more independent. He likes his "privacy" when he's using the washroom, and wanting to do more and more himself. He wants to walk to school (as opposed to the stroller) and carries his own backpack.

Martin
Martin is choosing to walk pretty much all the time. He rarely crawls, just to reach for something. He's showing a sense of humour, as he will after dinner, take his bib, and hide behind it. It you say "Where's Martin?", he'll pull it down with a big grin.

He's loves to ride the tricycle (since Oliver is always on his Lightening McQueen toy), and crawls onto it frequently, and then yells at us to push him around. He has a new tooth, so he has 4 on the top and 4 on the bottom.

Quick trip to Hong Kong

I made a quick trip to Hong Kong, leaving Sunday afternoon and returning on Monday night.

When setting off, I went to give Oliver a hug, and he ran over and said "I love you" with no prompting. So sweet.

The flight was good. I read up on Islamic finance and listened to Garth Brooks. Probably not a combination that happens every day.

Hong Kong sure has a lot of neon. I remember arriving in HK after our China trip and being very impressed with it, and happy to see so much English. Now, HK seemed to be very Chinese. Guess, its all a matter of perspective.

The conference went well. My session was not well attended, but was very interactive, and good for the participants. I also sat on a panel and that went well also.

I already had my boarding pass for the flight home, so when I arrived at the airport, I went straight in. I saw that there was a flight boarding for Singapore, and I got on it! So I arrived home 2 hours earlier. I watched the Sex and the City Movie. It was really good. I laughed. I cried (luckily I had the row to myself). It also didn't seem to be censored.

Then Tuesday morning, when I saw Martin again, he gave me a great big hug and rested his head on my shoulder. Sigh.

Monday Craft Update

Knitting

Worked on Marysa's sweater. Did a couple of inches on the back and finished the horses. Have no clue about how to do the neckline.And here are all the ends to sew in. Yikes!

Cross-stitch
Continued with the outlining of Lightning McQueen.

Crochet
Nothing.

Photography / videography
Nothing.

Declutter
Sold the infant car seat and gave away the exersaucer. Also donated some baby clothes. However took in a lot with Martin's birthday, so the clutter is still coming out ahead. And I'm sitting in Joe's office right now, and the clutter is definitely winning in this room!

Oliver Funny

I finished reading Oliver his bedtime story. I was then lying on top of him "squishing" him. He then returned the favour and as squishing me. He then sat up and started bouncing on me. I said "Don't bounce on my, I'm an old woman". He got off, looked me right in the face and said "You don't look old, you look brand new." So sweet. Then he said "Daddy looks old".

Industry Wide Event

The government of Singapore is running simulation tests of the banking and insurance industry in the face of a pandemic. See article here.

We participated this afternoon. It's basically a test of your business continuity plan.

So then I started thinking, what's our family continuity plan? At what point would we leave if there are cases of human to human transmission of the bird flu. In all probability it will start in Asia. So would we go back to Canada? Would Canada let us in? What if the bird flu started in Canada, would our relatives come to Singapore.

In the simulation, Singapore had the least number of deaths (less than Canada in the end). So maybe we are better off here.

Stitch 'n Chat

Had another Stitch 'n Chat night last night. It was good, but turnout was slow. At first it was just 3 of us, but we ended up with 5-6. Mind you, I was the only one doing a craft, but the one lady I had taught cross-stitch to last time, has sprained her finger.

It was a nice time. And I'm now done the horses on the sweater. If only I could figure out the directions around the neck. Paulina, expect an email about that soon!

Life is Great!

Great Eastern Life Insurance Company celebrated it's 100th birthday today, and Joe and I got to go to the birthday party, in my role as Deputy Managing Director for the company (the boss is away).

The party was quite good, and included the Prime Minister of Singapore. Impressive was the Chairman (who is actually a Chairwoman) all dressed in red. It was a huge gala affair at the Raffles Convention Centre that included free gifts (chocolate for the men, a gold orchid pin for the women) and a big year book from the Company.

It started off with acrobats/dancers, speeches, and finished off with a live performance of singers from the university who are putting on a play later this year, and another singer. All in all it was a very nice meal. Life is great, indeed.

Oh, and we were appropriately dressed in our "lounge wear". Oddest thing though, Joe's suit jacket got a cut in the sleeve, not even along a sleeve, so he had a last minute wardrobe change into a black suit. I was in my dress and was appropriate.

Final Olympic Update

My goal was to complete all the cross-stitches on the Lightening McQueen project. I'm proud to say that I did! Now all is left is the backstitch, which I've already completed a little bit on.

I'm awarding myself a Bronze!!!

Home again, home again

jiggety jig.

The trip home was uneventful (the way I like it) and it's rained here all day long. Pretty dull day.

But it was a great vacation, so we have the memories.

Joe's working on the server so I'll try and get pictures up mid-week.