Taste of Asia

Today I went to the Taste of Asia. It was a bit crowded because other than food stands they had rides. Although the bad part of Taste of Asia is that it REEKS with stinky socks! The whole time M2 was holding her nose. Big O pointed out that there was a stand that said stinky tofu and one other one I found said stinky fries. The only thing I ate there was potato chips and taro chips swirled around a stick. I really liked the taro chips but not really the potato chips because there was too much grease. The taro chips did not have ANY grease at all. All the food there had total grease on it. So, we just got the taro chips the potato chips and some ice cream from an ice cream truck. I didn't get ice cream I got a blueberry slushie. So after all that we sat in my car trunk and ate our food. If anyone that works at Taste of Asia is reading this, next time no grease. It just gave me bad poo.

M1

My Sleepover

Yesterday I had a sleepover at my cousins C.E. & N.E.'s house.  We played a game called Tiny Town.  And then we had ice-cream at 10:00.  And then we played some more.  We went to sleep at 11:00.  I woke up at 7:00 because I heard my cousin N.E. screaming!  Then we watched Kung-Fu Panda while we ate breakfast.  And then we played Tiny Town again.  When my aunt woke up we got ready to go to a picnic Milne Park.  At the picnic I had a hot dog for lunch.  After lunch we had a water gun fight.  And then we played four games.  They were 3-Legged Race, Sponge Race, Water Balloon Game, and a Water Dunk Game.  My favorite game was the Water Dunk Game.  And my team won a McDonald's gift card.  I had fun.

Ultimate Heroes

My first blog.  Ever.  I want it to be about something special and significant in my life.  Everyone knows that my family is the most important thing in my life.  They shaped my life, my morals, and my way of thinking.  The second most influential group in shaping my life would be my friends.  From the title of this blog, you might think that I would be writing about my parents, siblings, or good friends.  However, I’m not going to blog about any of these groups because I don’t think this is the right place to get all sentimental.

Being a Chinese person who grew up in Canada, I was lucky enough to enjoy the best elements of both cultures.  In particular, Chinese TV shows and hockey provided me hours of entertainment each day throughout my childhood (which lasted well into my 30s).  So it should come as no surprise that many of my childhood heroes come from TVB and the NHL.  But who are my “ultimate heroes”?  I would pick Wayne Gretzky (not my favourite player, though – that honour belongs to Wendel Clark) and Guo Jing (main character of the Legend of the Condor Heroes).

Wayne Gretzky was the best hockey player when I was growing up, perhaps of all time (debatable – possible subject of a future blog) and Guo Jing was the best fighter in China.  Each sport has its “best player” but what sets these two apart from the other “bests” is their humility.  They didn’t go around telling people how good they were.  But everyone would line up to tell them how good they were.

They both knew in their heart that they were the best but they would use that knowledge and their skills in a good way.  They would not act as superior beings to others because of their superior skills.  A good example is how Gretzky never thought he was bigger than the game.  He knew that he needed to play well for his team to win.  He knew his responsibility as the best player was also to be an ambassador of the game.  And he did that by helping the game to grow in the US and Europe (hockey camps and friendly tournaments).  He also contributed whenever Hockey Canada came calling.  After all that, he always had time for reporters.  When did you see Gretzky ever get mad at a reporter or refuse a question?  Don’t bring up the famous rant of 2002.  That was a planned move by The Great One (possible subject of a future blog).

“The Great One” is the nickname bestowed upon Gretzky by the media and his peers.  As I said, when you are truly great, others will compliment you.  As with Guo Jing, everyone called him “Dai Hup”, which means great hero.  He spent the majority of his life defending China against the Mongolians and earned the respect of everyone in the country.  One of my favourite scenes is at the end of Return of the Condor heroes when Guo Jing was given the title of “Ultimate Hero”.  Of course he said, “I am not worthy of this honour.”  Then his nephew, Yeung Guo (who by this time had become a great hero and top fighter himself) said, “Uncle, if you cannot be called a hero, then no one in the world can be a hero.”

These two ultimate heroes give me a chance to teach my daughters the lesson of modesty.  You don’t need to tell anyone that you are good at math or soccer or dancing, or anything at all.  If you are truly good, others will see it.  If you brag, people will just think you are a hot shot.  But when others compliment you, then it is much more meaningful and special.

Big Oh

My Last Day

Today was my last day of school. I delivered to my science teacher a present from one of my friends who came to Menchies with me. Anyway, I was going to give it to him when my friend said, "Put it on his desk!"  So I did, and he asked me, " What did you give me?".  I said, "Nothing,...", and he said, "Thank you for giving me nothing", when really it was from my friend.

After that most of the grade 2,3,4, and 5 classes went to the park. I saw M2 and my cousin C.E. We didn't play but I got so hot I went to the splash pad to get misted. All my other friends were soaking wet! I went the second time and got a lot more wet! My cousin in Gr. 5 was waiting with me and M2 to go on a baby swing that some girl was taking forever on! We all had a super fun time at the park! When we were walking back to the school my science teacher told me to tell the girls behind him to stop poking him so I said, "Stop poking me!" because he told me to say that.

When we got back to school we started to sign each other's yearbooks. My science teacher signed mines and my friend's, and he wrote to my friend to never stop smiling because it's infectious. I had a great last week of school and last day, and tomorrow I have a sleepover with my cousins C.E. and N.C.

Almost Time

Its almost time till school's out and I'm half sad half happy, for all those teachers out there reading this. Today my class had an ice-cream sundae party and was nice enough to share it with two other classes. We also watched The Lorax, and in my French class we watched The Cat in the Hat in French (obviously). We also started watching The Lego Movie which you've probably heard of. But what I'm most exited about is my teacher M.K. said that we could go to the park tomorrow morning if there was good whether. I can't wait for summer because I'm going to Niagara Falls and I have a dance workshop to go to. But I'm really excited to spend time with my family. So, schools out tomorrow and were basically just signing each others yearbook. The boys usually go cray cray writing phone numbers on each others arms not in the yearbook.

Why Am I Doing This?

So why am I doing this?   Why blog now?  I think the majority of blogs out there want to share some useful information they have.  Perhaps teach something, or bring light to a cause they are passionate about.  Maybe even to sell something and make some money.  Really for me it's none of the above.  I just have a some free time on my hands and want to do something to 'exercise' my brain.   I also think it is a great way to have my kids read and write during the summer holidays in the name of doing something 'fun'.  It's worked already - see previous post by M1!  But my friend L.W. did point out that writing  is cathartic (is that the same as therapeutic?).  So maybe that's why.  Regardless the reason I hope you enjoy reading these posts.  I purposely did not allow comments but the hubby wants me to allow it, so we may change that in the future.  I figure if someone I know  wants to comment on something you'll know how to reach me.  The hubby said he will post something soon....and he doesn't want to be referred to as O.C. in our blog.  So what does he want to go by?  Big O, of course - so stay tuned.

MY DAY AT MENCHIES

Today I went to Menchies with two of my friends and my family. I got red velvet fro-yo , gummy bears, chewy dolphins, strawberry tapioca balls and roasted almonds. I didn't enjoy the roasted almonds.  The reason I got them is because my friend and I made a bet in probability and I lost, so I had to eat roasted almonds. Then, we made a bet again and I won, so he got the same punishment. They had pretty good service besides the place being packed, but you know you can't blame them for being packed. Its frozen yogurt after school!  Anyway, if you ever want a sweet treat I recommend Menchies! (: M1       
                                                  

Restaurant Review - Casa Deluz

I'm going to write my first restaurant review today.  We had dim sum at a new Chinese Restaurant in Scarborough - Casa Deluz.  Located at McCowan & Finch. This huge place has gone through at least 3 make-overs in the last 15-20 years.  In fact, hubby & I had our wedding banquet here 15 years ago (under a previous name).  It was busy for a Tuesday but we were seated within 20 minutes.  Placed our order for some dim-sum must haves plus a few items we thought would be worth trying.  Took about 15 minutes for the first dish to arrive but everything else came out promptly afterwards.  Excellent ratings for the shrimp dumplings (har gow) - very large by Chinese Restaurant standards - and the Bean Curd Wrap (seen jook guen) - steamed just right without the gooey sauce so many restaurants serve it in.  I would also give an excellent rating to the steamed beef balls, almond pudding, papaya infused cake, beef short ribs, Chiu Chow Dumplings, and the Fried Shrimp Wraps With Thousand Island Dip.  Everything else I would rate good except for the Pan Fried Turnip (Lo Bak Goh) - this dish was too doughy and not enough turnip taste.  The cost was reasonable with 12 plates costing $60 (this is with taxes and tip) with no discounts.

The decor was good and the staff was attentive even though it was busy.  I would definitely go back to try their dinner menu.

Two More Days Left

Today is Tuesday.  Only 2 1/2 days left in the school year.  Summer vacation.  Going to be lazy this summer.  No summer camps/school planned for the kids.  Cicumstances have enabled me to be off work for the entire summer.  Going to sleep in everyday and do whatever we feel like without too much planning.  Shouldn't summer vacation be like that?

We do have a few fun things planned already though.  There's a tea party hosted by Auntie H.H. in her beautiful garden.  I have paint nite booked with H.H., L.L., and N.L.  And I think a brunch is being planned by LQ.L.   Of course we have Canada's Wonderland a few more times - we do have a season's pass, you know.

I've said it before.....it's always nice to have fun things to look forward to.  It certainly makes the time go by faster and it keeps my mind on all the positive people and energy I have in my life.

My First Blog

Yes, I am  a mommy.  But M.O.M.M.Y is also a nice acronym of my family's first names.  So all 5 of us will be contributing to this blog.  Hopefully you'll be able to tell which one of us has written each post based on the content. So that's it for now....Stay tuned for our first "real" post.