Personal Excellence

The true meaning of personal excellence was driven home to me yesterday when L told me the story of the latest History test results in her class. Her friend it seems scored 90% and wasn't happy. She felt slightly better when she discovered it was the top mark. However, her standards are such that she doesn't measure up against other scores, it's that she is used to achieving 98% and higher and did not feel that she measured up to her own standard. Admirable, and good for her, although L was quite happy with her 88% score as she was worried about passing in the first place as the questions had been clever.

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Easter on the way

Another freezing day, but the weekend's supposed to warm up. We're starting to get the Easter stories now, as it's just around the corner. I packed away some of my winter decorations and brought up some spring wreaths.

It's spaghetti and meat sauce day today, and I'm going to try a new tomato sauce and cheese recipe as well.

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Let us rejoice and eat fish

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8 Greater Toronto Area Driving Schools Lose Teaching License

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Parking Downtown A Walk In The Park: New Website Claims

Not lazy

Well, it's -23C with the wind chill today. That's like -13F according to the radio announce this morning. Brr. At least it's sunny and almost the end of February.

Step class was fun, lots of catchy numbers today, the class went by quickly. A lady at the gym was telling me her recent bone density test came back with readings a bit low, and she exercises a lot. Not much we can do about age I guess.

K's Parent teacher interviews are tonight, not looking forward to that. My new theory in this new obsession I have is that he's not lazy. He has always just tucked away work that seems too hard, hoping it will go away. Once he masters it a little piece at a time, he's fine.

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Man Proposes To Longtime Girlfriend Live On CityLine

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Peaceful Tuesday

Well the snowstorm hasn't materialized so we're getting on with our lives. It's actually relatively warm (above 0C) but supposed to get really cold tonight (-10C).

Had a great buffet lunch at an Indian restaurant with my friend and am totally stuffed. Tuesdays is a peaceful day to eat out, not the big Friday lunch crowds, have to remember that.

Hotmail was/is acting up today, a Microsoft problem that hit the news feeds. These days this sort of thing is major.

K's teeth were painful this morning due to the tightening of his braces at the orthodontist yesterday, but he's being good about it. L has a lower pain threshold as he reminded me.


News

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Snowstorm?

Well, we're waiting for another snowstorm to hit tonight, we'll see what that does to this week's plans! And my car looks so good from its weekend car wash. We always wait until it really needs it too.

I'm tired today, but made it to the gym this morning anyway. When I'm tired the world turns into a different, unattractive colour and things look so much worse than they really are. Having a lunch date with a friend tomorrow, long overdue. I made a beef stir fry for dinner and it came out pretty good. K has an orthodontist appointment this evening and this one is supposed to be his first painful tightening. He's been having nosebleeds recently, being prone to them. The doc thinks it's winter dryness despite the humidifiers.

Caught a bit of the Oscars last night. But most of the fun seems to be on the red carpet which I missed. Miley Cyrus did a fine job I thought. We really don't recognize some of the big winner movies, although we did see 'Enchanted'.

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How to make a million before you turn 20

Whole grains may curb belly fat

and inflammation! Well, this is good news as per the story below. We haven't had much trouble switching to whole grains the past few years and they seem to be making them more delicous and nutritious than ever, with all kinds of grains.

My sister had a great birthday party for her teenage daughter recently. This lady she knows is a professional makeup artist but she opened her own soap making shop with a party room upstairs. She sells all kinds of soaps, lotions, makeup, cards, jewelry and other things she likes. Anyway, my sister and the lady came up with this idea for a teen party. She normally does soap making with little kids. She gave the girls mud masks, exfoliating cream, then she made all girls up! Her daughter loved her fake eyelashes. The woman really tried to stress that they don't need a lot of makeup to look pretty, just very light colors and light lip gloss. I wish we had something like that in my neck of the woods that didn't cost the earth.

We've done so much math review with K this weekend, his brain must be bursting. He's been co-operative and receptive and I think he's learned a lot. He and M are off to a Raptors basketball game momentarily, so that will be a good break for us all. He's also started practicing for his RCM grade 5 level piano practical exam that we hope to schedule in the late summer. L just started her advanced level tennis lessons and loves the challenge.

Hope to catch some of the Oscars tonight.

News

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Just plain lazy

We went to L's school's play last night. It was amazing. I couldn't fault the costumes, the rollaway set decoration and props. Even the programs had the most professional cover drawn by one of L's friends. The band did an amazing job with the music. They even had a pony come on stage with the impression of pulling a carriage. And someone's beautiful dog also had a role. They had real guns fire some blanks (to wake M up). They had a knife fight and stunt fighting, really well executed. And the kids sang the songs just like Disney characters, looking off into the sky when they sang. It was about 3 hours long including a 15 min intermission, would've cut that by about half an hour. And they had well choreographed dance numbers (tap, jazz, ballet type numbers). Even good comedy thrown in. Tonight's show is sold out.

Well, K produced the results of 3 math tests I've never seen before. It's like a whole unit of work I didn't know about. If he had not been outsmarting himself as usual...like deliberately keeping me in the dark to avoid review. Now I know why some of the teachers ask to have the test signed. He managed to avoid me signing the art one awhile back that I still haven't seen.

He has a good math teacher, hard tests. I now see that at the top of every test he puts an inspiration quote like 'baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical', which I think most of them don't notice. And he seems to have given them 3 unit quizzes leading up to the unit test. Lots of opportunity to achieve.

Well guess what we're doing today. (Math, math, and more math) L has tennis in the afternoon. She got 98% on her last math test. She thinks he's just lazy and she's probably right.


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Encryption defeated by manipulation

A brand new day

Well, today's a brand new day, lovely and sunny, I feel great and have accomplished a lot today so far. K and I were having a chat in the car this morning and he seems really motivated to improve on his academics and I'm thinking this may be what's needed, a change from inside him rather than us pushing him. (Finger's crossed). He's really quite organized and we think he has it in him, he just needs to care. I apologized to L for not being there for her mentally last night, to share in all her recent accomplishments, and she said 'that's ok, I quite understand'. We're off to her school's senior play tonight, it's a musical, looking forward to it.

I saw a whole rabbit in the NoFrills grocery store meat section today, and that grossed me out. Somehow if it's cut into chunks or frozen it doesn't bother me as much. I remember trying rabbit once in a restaurant and it was the oddest thing, the bones all seemed to be in the wrong place and I just couldn't get my mind around it. I supposed I'd feel the same about frog's legs.

At the gym this morning, they had some of the cast of 'Dirty Dancing' performing on the local TV station, and they looked fantastic. I was waiting for it to go on sale, but now I don't think I can. The energy of those young, good looking dancers... One of them is Melissa O'Neil, a former Canadian Idol.

News

Being even moderately fit can lower stroke risk

Turmeric ingredient could help with heart failure

Blue is the new green

Soft tofu dessert

I tried a soft tofu dessert from the supermarket today, it was delicious, inexpensive and nutritious. They come in different flavours, so light tasting.

K's report card wasn't too bad, but the thing is he is failing math and that would mean he won't get a credit for the year, ministry guidelines. He passed everything else. We're stressed and he realizes what it means, so we're going to have to work really hard the next few months.

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Lunar eclipse tonight

It's been brutally cold for weeks now. At least it's sunny today.

I got this free weekend edition of the National Post at the Autoshow this weekend and I found it full of interesting articles. While I consider subscribing, I've been visiting their website.

Hopefully we'll remember to watch the lunar eclipse tonight.

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The pros weigh in
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Professor invents 'self-healing' rubber in Paris lab

Young at heart

The past few days have been relaxing for some reason. Hope it's not the calm before the storm. We get K's report card on Thursday, that should stir things up! I called the doctor's office to see if my routine blood tests came back and of course, they haven't. I'll check again in another 2 weeks.

My mom turned 70 this past weekend. She's very young at heart so it's a bit of a shock to all her kids, we do take her for granted. I see my kids doing the same thing to me.

I overbaked some boneless pork chops this evening, I have to remember these take only about 20 minutes, not 30. I did bake some nice tortilla chips smothered with shredded cheese and green pepper and tomato bits last night, great snack! All you do is bake for 5 minutes at 350F.

News

Total eclipse of moon occurs Wednesday night

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Is something fishy about that fish oil?

Home Lottery

The Princess Margaret hospital home lottery for cancer research has these homes on display. So we went to see the ones in Woodbridge this afternoon. Beautifully decorated, you can have a virtual tour on their website. The tickets are $100 each or 3 for $250 I think. It being the new Ontario Family Day holiday, there was quite a good crowd, lots of families. The weather was relatively mild, a bit sunny sometimes, if messy for walking. K went for a little spill as he attempted to jump over some snow, but he was fine if a bit muddy. L's raucous laughing having witnessed the scene did not help matters. Luckily I always have some travel wet wipes with me and they did a great job on cleanup.

Then we decided to catch a movie afterward. L and I saw 'Definitely, Maybe' that just opened and we loved it. M and K went to see 'Rambo' and it was every bit as bloody and gory as you would expect.

News

169 year old Halifax bookstore closing

Jennifer Sygo: Get your omega-3s from the sea

Rainy Day

We're having a rainy holiday weekend, but it beats the snow for the moment. M and K went skating this afternoon, and apparently M fell as the rink was crowded and he was chatting to a friend he met there. He had just said 'I can't skate and talk at the same time' to his friend! All's well that ends well. L has a bit of a cold but made it to her tennis match while I went to the gym. Hoping to do a bit more science review with K for what's left of the night. He's reading 'Hans Brinkler or the Silver Skates' for English, it's a classic and sounds quite interesting.

News

Reaching beyond the million dollar milestone

How wary should you be of tuna?

Canadian International Auto Show 2008

Lamborghini (K's favourite)

Ford concept car

Ford concept car

Pretty flower display

Popular Mercedes SL550

We went to the Autoshow today as the weather was good, didn't want to chance it on Family Day as it's supposed to turn nasty tomorrow sometime. We had fun at the show, it's good to dream. Mercedes are not really my thing, but I did think the top of the line mercedes SL550 was a beauty in red. Spotting beautiful things comes naturally to me! K had a great time. We met these 2 lovely blondes at a Ferrari exhibit near the entrance, they were manning a Ferrari ride simulator. K got an extra long ride as we went early and there was no one else in line. We had a nice conversation with the blondes as we waited, about jobs and careers and life in general. We decided it's important to do what you love if possible and that a course in personal finance early on in life is almost a necessity. Oh, we also enjoyed looking at the Lamborghini's.



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Food Boom

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Handsome hunk heaven

I watched a bit of the 'Live with Regis and Kelly' show this morning at the gym. The guest host with Kelly was Neil Patrick Harris (I remembered him from 'Doogie Howser, MD'). He had good chemistry with Kelly, they were very entertaining. Ryan Reynolds came out as a guest and Kelly aptly remarked 'I feel like I've died and gone to handsome hunk heaven with you guys sitting here beside me'. He was promoting his new movie, 'Definitely, maybe'. They all had a great rapport, I was laughing the whole time. It seems Ryan Reynolds (a Canadian actor in his early thirties) will be starring in a movie with Julia Roberts playing his mother of all things. She'll be made up to look the part.

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Amazing Sports Car Drives On Water - And Under It

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Hair sample may provide breast cancer diagnosis

Happy Valentine's Day

The grocery store seemed to be filled with screaming babies this morning, maybe they're tired like me. The parents just seemed to ignore them and let them wail.

K said he had a 'gross' health class yesterday, no details provided. The boys get a male teacher and the girls get a female teacher these days.

This is an old song from the 70's that I've always liked called 'Don't Rock the Boat' by the Hues Corporation



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Could your clothing someday power your home?

Couch Surfing

I heard that after all the snow we've been having this month, some of the snow contractors that people hired to clear their driveway are starting to charge extra for future visits. Better check your contract!

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Couch Surfing Can Save You Hundreds On Your Next Vacation

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Red Wine Not As Good For Your Heart as Once Thought

Baby galaxy spotted -- from 13 billion years ago

Study finds love really is blind

Reaching 100

I was reading the Jan 2008 Chatelaine issue at the gym this morning. There was a finance article on a young woman who is a dental peridontic specialist in
Ottawa. I was surprised she listed her annual income as $85,000. I thought they made more.

We got our online e-documents for our Jamaica vacation in the March Break. Time to start the packlist. I'm not one of those people that can pack the night before any trip.

I got this delicious B.C. dilled smoked salmon from Loblaws supermarket. Great with a bagel and cream cheese or just plain.

I heard this song by Nelly Furtado called 'Do it' on the radio the other morning and liked it, it's not really that new



News

Reaching 100 is easier than suspected

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Um, never mind – I don't need the job that badly

K's back

K made it back from Quebec and announced that he had a great time and really enjoyed himself. He mentioned they were in a really old hotel in one city that had one washroom in the hallway for everyone to share. That was a first for him. He said they also stayed in a Radisson hotel which was really nice with their own shampoo, etc. They took a group photo with the Chateau Frontenac in the background but it was foggy that day so you can barely make it out. He ordered a baked fish with vegetable dish one day which is surprising (and nutritious), must be the start of a new maturity (fingers crossed). The truth is I just lost my last posting and I'm trying to re-create the paragraph! Frustrating. He remembered a lot of the sights from when we were there almost 2 years ago on a family vacation. He liked the poutine (french fries with gravy and cheese curds). He brought his sister a little blue stuffed toy as a gift, I could tell he chose it because he thought it was cute. She's been urging him to remember to do this for many years. He got himself a couple of little toys. He was very good with his budget, unlike some of the even older boys.

It's absolutely freezing outside and we're having more snow tomorrow, maybe another 10 cms. I feel like I'm hibernating today.

News

Use A Telephone? You Could Become An Identity Theft Victim

Website shows way to stop Canada Post junk mail - I actually like junk mail

Surprise party continued

We had a great time at my friend's 50th birthday party. There were about 40 close friends and family and they picked up the tab excluding alcohol. She was half surprised and very excited, reporting that she didn't know what or if she ate and it was all a blur after. A couple of us went back to their house after the restaurant and we didn't get home until after 1 am this morning. I was so tired. My friend gave us some whole wheat tortilla chips at her house and they were delicious. Apparently they make some with flax seed now that are also good. I'll have to look for those.

Did I mention that we are going to brunch with some other friends this morning? Like we didn't eat enough last night! M went to the gym for a bit.

K is on his way home from Quebec, looking forward to seeing him but I know he will be exhausted. L has a tennis match today. Hope to get some housework done today, everything falls behind with too much socializing. Can you tell I'm not a 'people person?'

News

Artificial sweeteners may make weight loss harder

Birthday celebration

Met an old friend for coffee this morning. She used to babysit the kids when they were younger, the best babysitter I ever had, it was great catching up with her. She found a great job using Craigslist (an Ebay like company) and seems to be having a great life doing the things she wants to do. Her family and social life seem to have a balance, especially now that her kids are older, like mine.

I hadn't heard from K in days (he's in Quebec on a school trip). I text messaged him last night 'Whatsup? Uok?', so he just text messaged me back this afternoon 'Yea'. They have the busiest intinerary. But I felt better hearing from him.

The rest of us are going to a surprise 50th birthday celebration tonight at a restaurant.

My Nephew got his driver's licence yesterday. The next generation is in full swing!

News

Homework of little benefit to young students

Semiformal

These pictures were taken Wed morning just before the big 30 cm dump

Well, it seems we had a record-breaking (30cm) one day February snowfall yesterday. We shovelled and shovelled, it was exhausting.

A friend was telling me this morning how she fell and hurt her tailbone while skating recently. Ouch! Luckily she was wearing her helmet as she also banged her head, but she's fine otherwise.

L has a senior semiformal tonight, so she and a couple of friends are getting their hair and makeup done professionally. They just want to maximize the fun, most of the others will get ready at home. I heard that a bunch of the senior boys decided not to attend the prom and have a party at someone's home instead. Must be a phase they're going through.

We signed L up for an advanced tennis class for the spring session, so she is looking forward to that. She may even try out for the inter-county league in the summer.

I bought some flatbread and some pizza ingredients including some prosciutto (ham), looking forward to that this weekend. I wish I had also got some pancetta (bacon) to try with it.



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Chinese New Year

L's school declared a snow day today. We have about another hour and a half more shovelling left to do this morning, we got about 30 cms. Well, the sun's out right now and everything looks beautiful. I see my newspaper lying out in the driveway but I'd have to get my coat and boots on to retrieve it.

Happy Chinese New Year (the year of the Rat) to those who celebrate, it's officially today! They are having unseasonably cold weather in China which is causing a lot of human tragedy.

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Workplace passions

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Short of staff, Norway eyes robot care for elderly

Winter wonderland

We woke up to 3 to 4 cms of heavy wet snow this morning. K's off to Quebec, the driving for me wasn't too bad, I guess leaving that early in the morning has its advantages, like less traffic. He text messaged me to say 'Whatsup?' and that he was bored on the bus. It's really beautiful outside, all those trees with icy branches. L's school just cancelled all activities past 4.30pm as more snow is on the way tonight and every day until Monday. I made it to my step class today although after 40 minutes of shovelling I probably didn't need to. Still, I felt good after, but my blood pressure was up. It must be that Chinese takeout food we've been eating for a few days. It's sooo good, but I think it's because of those little bacon bits I see in the noodle dishes and the sticky rice.

L and I shovelled tonight for an hour and a half. The snow was lighter, but there was lots of it and it's still coming down. It wasn't that cold and a few of the neighbours were out. It's ironic that we have a large snowblower in the garage that I don't know how to use, that we hardly ever use. Anyway, I felt great afterward, the picture of health. We'll have to do more in the morning especially after the snow plough comes through.

News

Who are those Valentine's flowers on your co-worker's desk really from?

Don't put anything on the web you wouldn't want your mother to see

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Mice reveal how brawny bodies burn away fat

Winter storm watch

Well, we're under a winter storm watch for tomorrow, the day K is supposed to be heading out to Quebec on a school field trip. It's also a full garbage day of course. Every week we have a green bin (compost like) pickup and a blue bin pickup (for papers and plastics). Then every 2nd week we get a garbage pickup (2 or 3 bag limit) in addition to the others. Watch it all blow around. M just went off on his business trip.

Looks like K bombed out on the last science test. I've decided he must be my main purpose in life, it's good to have purpose. I have this hope that he'll make it to university that is dimming.
I remember in preschool he didn't seem to be learning to read like a lot of the others, so I got some phonics books and started teaching him myself. The wonder is that he did learn to read!

Well, I'm looking for L's asthma readings to summarize for her doctor's appointment tomorrow evening (yes, the day of the pending storm).

News

Ontario family of 5 prepares to climb Mt. Everest - I like this story about mental challenge and controlling your fear

Amazing gas pump Robot

see the gas pump Robot video here

Japanese study clears mobiles of brain cancer risk

Dad baboons help their daughters mature

Nature giving way to virtual reality

Finding great stuff

I did my blood test early this morning, so let's hope it's all good. The lab was really busy. The technician was a little short with me when I reminded her for the second time to make sure she had enough of a specimen and that it had to be iced.

L finally got a haircut today and we all got our passport pictures taken. You have a choice of colour or black and white and the salesman said he did his own in black and white as he found it to be a more true likeness in all kinds of lighting. We also found L a great new winter coat on sale, like 60%off!! I had thought it was just 10% off. The thing is you never find stuff when you're really looking for it, you just kind of have to happen in on things sometimes.

News

4 minute workouts might be latest fitness craze

Potentially dangerous substance in baby products - small study

Year of the rat

Well, I've been off the blood pressure medicine for a week in preparation for a blood test the specialist ordered. Now I just have to remember to fast after 8pm and head over to the lab first thing in the morning. They usually open quite early and are usually crowded so it will be good to get that over with. This is the blood test that has to be put on ice right after. I decided to go to the lab right under the specialist's office, maybe they will do a better job with her tests and the results can just go right up to her.

K is at least half packed for his big Quebec trip. The hardest part is making the list, then it's just a matter of deciding which bags to use and throwing the stuff in. That reminds me I forgot to add snacks to the list. I heard the Quebec Carnaval ice festival opening was delayed by a day due to bad weather.

I made it to church yesterday, it was a lovely walk, a 'mild' day. They are asking people who don't go to church weekly not to receive Communion bread before confession. The priest is also asking you to consume the bread in his presence and not to walk away with it as he is concerned it about what people do with it after. Also Catholics who have not been married in the church are being asked not to receive Communion bread unless they have had a dispensation from the priest. All these rules. Instead of the homily, he explained the mass as he went through it, why the bells are rung, what our responses mean, etc.

News

Year of the rat creates panty craze in Malaysia

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How do thousands of starlings fly without colliding?

Homework day

Today has turned into homework day. Seems K has Math and English tests on Tuesday and a History essay also due on Tuesday. One of his friends casually mentioned it at the bowling party. K decided not to stress me with this info. I had decided to stay at the bowling party and not drive around so much in that weather. Our street's been plowed and everything seems back to normal as we know how to deal with our snow! Although we had a power outage in the middle of the night for a bit.

K leaves for Quebec Wednesday morning until Sunday so we've started to get him packed up for that. I'm looking forward to his time away (less responsibility) although I suppose I'll miss him (I suppose).

L has a prom this Friday, and she has a great dress all ready to wear. I'm feeling tired today, hope to make it to church this evening. I think Lent season is starting next week.

News

Avoiding germs a weighty concern at the gym

Canada's groundhogs agree : spring's coming early

The snowstorm did come

Well, we postponed L's haircut to Monday, shovelled 3 times today so far. K and I did make it to his friend's birthday party, I didn't get stuck in the snow until I got to the parking lot of the bowling alley. Luckily I had packed a small shovel so it helped along with a kind stranger who pushed me a little bit. As far as I know M and L are at the Raptor's game. I'm tired and still have a few things left to do before the night is over including some more laundry. My arms hurt from shovelling, the first batch was so heavy and wet, no fun today. Luckily M did a lot of it. It seems like more effort to pull the snowblower out from behind the car and get it going.

I ended up eating a lot of junk food at the bowling alley as I was hungry. Pizza, wings and Ice cream cake. We gave K's friend a Mastermind (Educational Toy Store) gift card. I noticed they gave Mastermind loot bags, so I think they may like K's gift!

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