Today is the first day of school. I am in grade one. My teacher's name is Mrs. S****. My teacher had a surprise for us. The surprise was a caterpillar. I liked my classroom. My best friend is V****** and she is in my class. I also played other children in the yard. A lot of those children were nice. I went to another classroom and I listened to a story. The teachers were reading a story together and showing us how to read like buddies and she didn't show us the pictures. Afterwards she showed us the pictures. I had a long day. I liked the big school yard and I played with lots of different people. I did school work today. My school work was writing numbers and reading. I even found my sisters in the schoolyard. My grandpa came to pick me up from school. That's all I want to tell you. I'll tell you more tomorrow.
M3
Tuesday, September 6, 2016
Monday, September 5, 2016
Documentaries - Part 2
Here is the continuation of the documentaries I have watched this summer on Netflix:
Fat Sick & Nearly Dead (2010) - Follows and overweight Australian entrepreneur and filmmaker on his journey to lose weight by juicing only fresh fruit and vegetables and drinking only that for 60 days while inspiring others to do the same. 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
Fat Sick & Nearly Dead 2 (2014) - Revisits Joe Cross the Australian who lost over 100 lbs in 60 days by drinking only fresh juices and to see how he and others who were also featured in the first "Fat Sick & Nearly Dead (2010) were doing 4 years after the first documentary was filmed. 🌟
The Search For General Tso (2014) - Explores the origin of this Chinese dish you'll find on almost every North American Chinese restaurant (spoiler: this dish did not originate in China). Also an interesting look into the proliferation of Chinese restaurants in the small towns USA. 🌟 🌟
Little White Lie (2014) - Autobiographical documentary by filmmaker Lacey Schwartz who grew up believing she was a white Jewish girl and finding out that her biological father was a black man. Interesting conversation about race, ethnicity, and how one identifies with their own race. 🌟 🌟
The Black Kung Fu Experience (2012) - African American kung fu masters - some highly respected individuals even in the Chinese subculture of kung fu actors & stuntmen in Hong Kong. 🌟 🌟
Hoop Dreams (1994) - A documentary featuring two inner city Chicago boys with hopes of scoring a college basketball scholarship and ultimately a shot a the NBA. Not just a film about basketball but of how economics, race, social class, and education all plays a part in almost every young athelete's dream of making it into the big leagues. 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
The Mask You Live In (2015) - This film hypothesizes that in today's society the images of men thru the media, television, sports, and even at home, encourages them to be stoic, repress their feelings, dominant, and violent. One of the topics the film highlights is how sensitivity in a boys is seen as being a weakness and how as a child ages they become more aware of what society perceives what a man should be like and how a man should act and the implications of that. 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
Amy (2015) - On Amy Winehouse. Sad look at her rise to fame and how just a couple of bad people/influences in her life had such a profound effect on her life and death. 🌟 🌟
Fat Sick & Nearly Dead (2010) - Follows and overweight Australian entrepreneur and filmmaker on his journey to lose weight by juicing only fresh fruit and vegetables and drinking only that for 60 days while inspiring others to do the same. 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
Fat Sick & Nearly Dead 2 (2014) - Revisits Joe Cross the Australian who lost over 100 lbs in 60 days by drinking only fresh juices and to see how he and others who were also featured in the first "Fat Sick & Nearly Dead (2010) were doing 4 years after the first documentary was filmed. 🌟
The Search For General Tso (2014) - Explores the origin of this Chinese dish you'll find on almost every North American Chinese restaurant (spoiler: this dish did not originate in China). Also an interesting look into the proliferation of Chinese restaurants in the small towns USA. 🌟 🌟
Little White Lie (2014) - Autobiographical documentary by filmmaker Lacey Schwartz who grew up believing she was a white Jewish girl and finding out that her biological father was a black man. Interesting conversation about race, ethnicity, and how one identifies with their own race. 🌟 🌟
The Black Kung Fu Experience (2012) - African American kung fu masters - some highly respected individuals even in the Chinese subculture of kung fu actors & stuntmen in Hong Kong. 🌟 🌟
Hoop Dreams (1994) - A documentary featuring two inner city Chicago boys with hopes of scoring a college basketball scholarship and ultimately a shot a the NBA. Not just a film about basketball but of how economics, race, social class, and education all plays a part in almost every young athelete's dream of making it into the big leagues. 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
The Mask You Live In (2015) - This film hypothesizes that in today's society the images of men thru the media, television, sports, and even at home, encourages them to be stoic, repress their feelings, dominant, and violent. One of the topics the film highlights is how sensitivity in a boys is seen as being a weakness and how as a child ages they become more aware of what society perceives what a man should be like and how a man should act and the implications of that. 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
Amy (2015) - On Amy Winehouse. Sad look at her rise to fame and how just a couple of bad people/influences in her life had such a profound effect on her life and death. 🌟 🌟
Sunday, September 4, 2016
Dance Boot Camp
This past week M1 and I went to Dance Boot Camp. It was 4 hours from 4:00-8:00 so it was really intense. I will be listing all the classes from my favourite to least favourite.
Jazz Fusion (Bree): I liked this class because our teacher was Ms.Kate form the Next Step and the choreography wasn't that hard. I also liked it because we used a song I was familiar to (Me Too - Meghan Trainor) and most of the classes I didn't know the song.
Contemporary (Hani): I enjoyed this class because the teacher was nice and the choreography was easy and fun to do.
Stretch (Christina): I also liked this class because the instructor was nice and we did partner stretches that were very useful.
Acro (Kim): This class was good because I like Acro and I'm good at it and the teacher was nice.
Contemporary (Tiffany): This class was okay because I liked the combo that we did but the teacher would keep talking about her helper. She said that when we are older we should be like her.
Turning (Joe); This class was also okay because he was nice but some of the things we did across the floor were hard.
Musical Theatre (Jamie): I didn't really enjoy this class as much as other because although he was a nice instructor the move were kind of inappropriate.
Musical Theatre (Jay): I didn't like this class because we were supposed to do Musical Theatre but he made us sing which a lot of people didn't like.
Hip Hop (Apolonia): This class wasn't very fun because the moves were really fast and she didn't give us a lot of time to practice.
Jazz (Shawn): I didn't like this class either because we were supposed to do Jazz but we ended up doing Contemporary which I didn't like because we had Contemporary right after that. Also the teacher said that he only liked teaching one student and the rest of us were being rude which wasn't true.
M2
Jazz Fusion (Bree): I liked this class because our teacher was Ms.Kate form the Next Step and the choreography wasn't that hard. I also liked it because we used a song I was familiar to (Me Too - Meghan Trainor) and most of the classes I didn't know the song.
Contemporary (Hani): I enjoyed this class because the teacher was nice and the choreography was easy and fun to do.
Stretch (Christina): I also liked this class because the instructor was nice and we did partner stretches that were very useful.
Acro (Kim): This class was good because I like Acro and I'm good at it and the teacher was nice.
Contemporary (Tiffany): This class was okay because I liked the combo that we did but the teacher would keep talking about her helper. She said that when we are older we should be like her.
Turning (Joe); This class was also okay because he was nice but some of the things we did across the floor were hard.
Musical Theatre (Jamie): I didn't really enjoy this class as much as other because although he was a nice instructor the move were kind of inappropriate.
Musical Theatre (Jay): I didn't like this class because we were supposed to do Musical Theatre but he made us sing which a lot of people didn't like.
Hip Hop (Apolonia): This class wasn't very fun because the moves were really fast and she didn't give us a lot of time to practice.
Jazz (Shawn): I didn't like this class either because we were supposed to do Jazz but we ended up doing Contemporary which I didn't like because we had Contemporary right after that. Also the teacher said that he only liked teaching one student and the rest of us were being rude which wasn't true.
M2
Saturday, September 3, 2016
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
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.
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.
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.
Friday, September 2, 2016
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.
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.
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