Tea Time

Today I went to Essence of Unionville for afternoon tea.  It is a fancy restaurant inside a hotel.
I ate three sandwiches: egg salad, tuna, and ham & cheese. 
I also ate some desserts.  One of the desserts was chocolate covered strawberries.  I also had crème brule and lemon poppy seed bread. 
Afterwards me and my sister took a picture with a fancy sports car.
It was a fun time.  I ate a lot and my sister ate a lot too.  I like the food very much.  I liked the restaurant.  It had fancy chairs and tables.  Everything was very fancy. 

M3

Summer Eats

It's been awhile since I posted any restaurant reviews.  This summer we ate out A LOT.  More so than usual.  We tried a few new restaurants and frequented some of our favorites.  Here's a list of the new restos our family tried.

Diana's Oyster Bar & Grill http://dianasoysterbar.com/menu/
I guess our mistake in going to a restaurant like this is that my family doesn't eat oysters.  We didn't even try their lobsters as we prefer them "Chinese" style.  We ordered the lobster bisque, clam chowder, fried calamari, bouilabaise, seafood paella, their surf & turf, shrimp & lobster pasta, and grilled branzino.  Although everything was well presented and palatable, I wasn't overwhelmed with anything except for the bill - but that was to be expected - I did check out the menu online before deciding to go.  I just wished that for the price we paid I was more "wowed". 

Essesce Of Unionville Essence Of Unionville
This restaurant is inside the Hilton Suites.  We went for afternoon tea and for only $20 per person buffet style ($11 for children 4-10 years old), plus the mixed reviews online, I didn't think I had high expectations, but I was still disappointed with the quality of food and selection.  The sandwiches were basic tuna, egg salad, ham & cheese and smoked salmon.  The desserts looked like they had been sourced in, and quite frankly, our local grocery stores have fancier/tastier desserts than some of the one they had laid out. 

Petit Potato http://www.petitpotato.com/MainMenu.php
A Taiwanese tapa-style restaurant whose specialty is Chinese desserts.  We went for lunch and ordered some popcorn chicken,  sizzling beef short rib on rice, pork cutlet omurice with curry, pork & mui choi on rice, & pork ramen.  Although we didn't try their signature dessert, a tower of French toast, whipped cream, fruit, & ice cream concoction, we did order the durian pancake, sweet sesame soup and egg pudding as well as two fancy drinks.  The menu items are pricey but we were happy with the taste, service and restaurant in general.  So no complaints here.  I like how we can preview the menu of most restaurants online and can't be surprised with prices.

Honey B Hive
Basically a dive/diner.  Stick with their $4.99 all day breakfast and you'll be fine.  Veer away from that and don't say that I didn't warn you.  We ordered a "chicken souvlaki pita" and it was frozen chicken breast with some tzatziki sauce and limp lettuce.  The pancake breakfast was obviously a box mix and done poorly at that - my 10 year old had two bites and couldn't finish the rest.  The steak that came with the steak and eggs wasn't seasoned and thin as paper.  Can't remember what else we ordered but I'm sure it wasn't good either.

Milestones http://milestonesrestaurants.com/dinner.php
Came here for M2's birthday dinner with 3 of her friends.  Although we have been to Milestones before, this is a new location.  It is in a busy area with a movie theatre close by but on the Friday night we were there it wasn't busy at all.  The menu was typical of any franchised restaurant - we ordered fried calamari, French onion soup, Ceasar salad, prime rib sandwich, and entrees off the kids' menu.
 
Papa Chang's http://www.papachang.ca/menu/
Another Taiwanese tapa style restaurant just around the corner from our place.   Most of the snack items are around $5 and come with 3 or 4 pieces, or just enough for 3 or 4 people to get a tasteful.    I didn't mind at all as this allowed our family to sample many items.  From the snack menu we ordered panko shrimp, skewered fish, popcorn chicken, green onion fried cake, we added a couple of rice bowls for $6.99 and bento boxes for $6.99 and we were set.  A lot of deep fried items so if you are craving some grease this is the place to go.  This restaurant was a pleasant surprise, however the place is small - seating for about 20-25 people only.

Documentaries - Part 1

We got Netflix recently.  I love being able to watch programs on my own time, at my own pace.  I guess with cable TV and PVR boxes you can argue that you can do that anyways but I hate our two local cable companies and I'm slowly changing our services to only the most basic so I can get local news and some live sporting and live special programs (re: Academy Awards, Grammys, etc...).  I hate how they basically have an oligopoly on the industry, over-charging for their services while providing crappy service.  But that's another rant for another post.

So what have I been watching?  Well, M1 & I binged watched 8 episodes of 'Stranger Things' and now I'm stuck wondering when Season 2 will begin.  And I love documentaries.  I love real people stories - their trials & tribulations.  I love being transported out of my world and time and into somewhere I would never be able to go to.  I also love food and I love learning about our Earth and the amazing things it can do for us if we treat it well.  I love sad stories just as much as I love happy ones, and I love serious thought provoking stories just as much as "fluff" about movie stars & musician - if nothing else,  just to remind me of what a beautiful life I have and how grateful I am to be here.  Documentaries can be all this and more.   Here are the ones I've watched so far with a little blurb and personal rating of each.

🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟  Loved it!  Definitely a must watch for anyone - I'd watch it again.
🌟 🌟 🌟  Really liked it & would recommend.
🌟 🌟  It was OK - but may not recommend unless you are interested in the subject matter.
🌟  I liked it enough to finish the documentary but probably wouldn't recommend it

Back In Time (2015) - A look back at THE BEST TIME TRAVEL MOVIE OF ALL TIME!  This is full of present day interviews of the stars and makers of Back To The Future & it's sequels.  A must watch for any Back To The Future fan.   🌟 🌟 🌟 

Kid Poker (2014) - Toronto native Daniel Negreanu's account of his rise in ranks in the world of professional poker playing.  Love how he seems like a just an average Joe kind of guy playing in poker games for millions of dollars.  🌟 🌟

Welcome To Lieth (2015) - How some citizens of a small town U.S.A. fought back against a white supremacist who was intent on moving into their town and possibly setting up a faction of a white supremacist group in the area.  🌟 🌟 🌟

Queen Of Versailles (2012) - This documentary looks and feels like reality TV.  A look inside the over-indulgent lifestyle of a time-share mogul and his wife and family filmed during the course of
2 years - right in the middle of the 2008 financial crisis.   Interesting look at how the rich and famous "cope" when they have to downsize  their extravagant lifestyle.  🌟 🌟

Trophy Kids (2013) - A documentary that follows families that push their children to become "prodigies" in their chosen sport.  The parents come across as overbearing, intense, win-at-all-costs, while the children seem stressed and unhappy.  🌟 🌟 🌟

I didn't really give any of these documentaries a bad rating - even the one star can't be considered a "bad" rating.  I have started watching some documentaries only to stop without finishing - I guess those would be the ones that I would give 0 stars to but I'm not going to list those.  There are a few more that I have watched.  I will continue this list with a Part 2...

Are there any documentaries that you would recommend?  Feel free to comment below.

Goodbye Summer

This is the last weekend before school starts.  The kids have new school supplies & their school bags are packed.  They are excitedly looking forward to next week.  Today my two older girls are with their cousins on one last summer outing and my little one is quietly playing on her own.  This is bliss.

I am thinking how quickly this summer has gone by and taking inventory on what we did.  There were two weeks of summer camp.  A week of dance camp.  Two weeks of volunteer work for the older girls and a family trip to Ottawa at the beginning of the summer. 

There were a few weekends with cousins.  Some birthday parties thrown in.  The Big Oh went to Wonderland a few times (gotta make use of those season's passes) with the girls.  We had some quality time with friends & family.  We watched a couple of movies, went to the theatre, and tried some new restaurants. 

We lazied around at home, completed a 3D puzzle, learned some new games & played some old ones.  Went to the library and read some good books, went swimming at grandma's and at friends' places.  We watched a lot of Netflix - the kids loved "Full House" and "Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air" and I was hooked on to "Stranger Things" and documentaries.  We slept late and slept in.

And between these activities with the kids I had weekly appointments to organize and keep - taking care of my health has become my "part-time job".  But I am grateful to still be here and able to do all these things and more.

Just because you don't (or can't) go on a fancy vacation, summers don't need to be "boring".  I hope my kids didn't think their summer was boring.  Simplicity is very much underrated.  Sometimes that's just what your body & mind needs - to slow down & enjoy life's simplest moments.

Y.C.

Only The Lonely

I had a conversation with someone recently about having children - or more specifically having more than one child.  I know that these topics are usually very sensitive and personal but in this case I felt close enough to this person that we could have a light-hearted conversation about this without any hurt feelings and without getting argumentive while defending our views.

As a parent I feel very strongly that children should have siblings.  Of course this view is shaped by my own families and my personal experiences.   I have 2 siblings and The Big Oh has 4.  Growing up my grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins lived close by.  I remember having dim sum weekly and happily squishing 12-14 people around a table that was supposed to seat 10.  There was also weekly mah-jong games my parents played with aunt and uncles while my cousins and I ran around the house like banshees!  And it seemed we were attending a wedding, baby banquet, or birthday banquet every month!  As a child I enjoyed the games and hanging out with all the kids, as a young adult I might have even been annoyed by all the family functions that interfered with my own social life.  But now looking back, I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

The Big Oh also had a similar childhood with even more uncles, aunts, and cousins than I.  Now between my siblings and The Big Oh's our children have 13 cousins.  They all live within relatively close driving distance and we make an effort to get together frequently.  And of course, my girls have each other. 

Our siblings help each other out with our parents health and finances.  We are there to help babysit. There's always someone to help fix a toilet, move furniture, or ask advice on fixing or buying a car.  We also cheer on and congratulate each other when one of us gets a raise or promotion, we celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and milestones.  We've fought, we've laughed and we've cried together.  Sure, you can share all these things with best friends, but I've got the best of both worlds: amazing friends and a network of brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, and cousins - why wouldn't anyone want both if they could?

I've mentioned before that I've been sick, and without my family I really don't think I would be here today.  So yes, I am biased - I think it would be terribly sad and lonely to be an only child.  I know this isn't representative of all families or all brothers and sisters out there, but this is my experience, my family, and it is what I am grateful for today.

Y.C.

Device Free Week

I really wanted to set an example...I really did.  But just as I said "Device Free Week" I reached for my cell phone and wanted to put it in my calendar.  I admit - I can't do it.  So how can I set an example to my daughters and ask them to do something that I can't.

I realize that these electronic devices has become a part of our lives just like our cars, internet, and email - for some even as indispensable as electricity and running water.  So for my girls they are going device free (iPods and iPads and computers) for 5 days with an exception of 45 minutes every evening between 9:00 - 9:45 pm.  Day 1 and Day 2 - successfully completed.

As for myself?  Well, I already did some banking online today.  I check my calendar on my phone multiple times a day to make sure I haven't forgotten an appointment.  My family and friends automatically reach for the WHATSAPP or text message when we need to contact each other and now I'm on my laptop typing this post.  So no, I won't be going "Device Free" anytime soon.

So what are my girls doing during the last few lazy days of summer?  We've gone out to lunch with family, baked, we are working on a 3D puzzle, reading, watched some new shows together on Netflix, and playing a lot of mah-jong. 

Y.C.

Happy Birthday To My Meese

Today is M2's birthday.  She is 10 years-old. 

Parent's are not suppose to have a favorite child - And for the record I certainly don't.  I love all my girls in their own special way.   They each have their own personalities, their own quirkiness, their own annoying behaviours - and I love everything about them, because that's what makes them their own special person.  But IF I did have a favorite I think it would be M2...

She is so funny.  She has a wicked sense of humour.  She sees quirkiness and weirdness in some of the most mundane things and then her silly grin will creep on her face like she just discovered a secret that she is dying to tell.  And she keeps a journal of riddles and jokes she's read or heard.

She is so sensitive.  And at 10 years-old she already knows compassion and empathy.  Her feelings get hurt easily - sometimes with a word or an action that was never intended to be hurtful at all.  But even when she is feeling sad or angry at someone she'll think about how the other person is feeling too. 

She is so smart.  She is my gifted child.  You know, she did score in the 98th percentile in the school "gifted" test!  She'll be my doctor, engineer, scientist...anything she can dream of I know she'll succeed at.

She is so strong.  Have you seen her dance?  Her handstands?  Her push-ups and sit-ups?  How she flies thru the air with her jumps?  And those abs and glutes?  Rock.  Hard.  Steel.

She is so loving.  She always remembers birthdays.  She always remembers to make or buy a card or present.  She still comes home after school with a hug or kiss for me.  She still comes and kisses me goodnight.  She cares about her sisters - she loves and protects them so much.

She is so beautiful.  Her smile.  Her eyes.  Those wicked tiger teeth of hers - just like Daddy has.

Happy 10th Birthday Meese.  Love, Mommy.

Y.C.