A Good Day?

Well, it's back to a regular routine. I had a dental checkup this morning. I thought I would be late as the parking lot was so crowded, but a parking spot opened up right before me, leaving me to wonder if that meant I was going to have a good day. Then, I rushed to the basement washroom of the medical building, thinking I had just enough time. I quickly swing open one of the stall doors and 'bang', I hit a lady square on the head. She goes 'oh, my head..oh my head'. I apologized profusely and she continued to do her thing. I wondered afterwards why she hadn't locked the door, maybe the lock was broken.



News

Healthy summer sandals


Caring for aging parents

Quick And Easy Urine Test Assesses Diet Quality

New Internet worm set to attack April 1

Balancing fatty acid needs with dwindling fish stocks

Poolside Games

So the day before we left Jamaica, I'm sitting in the hot tub watching a poolside game. They picked a pretty girl with long blonde hair out of the audience to help about 5 guys with the pushup competition. She wore a white beach dress over her swimsuit. Her job was to lie atop each guy and act as an added weight. The first guy did about 6 pushups. The second guy did 11 pushups. The third guy did 20 pushups and only admitted to being a little tired. And so on, but 20 was the highest number. Then it was a dancing competition. So each guy had to show his moves. The first guy was ok. The second man had some help from his little son who demonstrated some fast moves for his dad to copy, much to the delight of the audience. Then the guy that did 20 pushups started off with the hip gyrations then did a break dance on the floor, spinning on one shoulder. The host asked him to do a repeat performance and he obliged. And so on. Then it was the singing competition. The first guy sang a few verses of something but was clearly no singer. The second man (with the young son) sang something like 'Margaritaville', and did a good job really. The 20 pushup guy decided to do a most romantic love song and he could sing. All of a sudden, he's down on one knee and he's holding out this tiny red box and asking the blonde volunteer to marry him! She said 'yes' and the hotel photographer was right on hand to capture their moments of joy. After a few minutes, they finished the competition, and guess who got the loudest audience applause and won? It seems he hadn't planned the whole thing, but had been waiting for the right moment to pop the question.


Later that evening, I was about to tell L what had happened, it turns out she already knew as she had been playing tennis at the time and her partner's daughter ran over to tell her 'the most romantic story' in her English accent. Word spreads fast. L also saw the rainbow behind our hotel that same afternoon from the tennis court. I was on the beach and wasn't able to get to my camera in time to capture the beauty. A nice way to end our trip.

Ocho Rios, Jamaica 2009

Well, we're back from our Jamaica vacation! Here are some trip photos I hope you'll enjoy.

Here is a beach view of Ocho Rios from our rooms at the Sunset Grande hotel. It rained a bit on a couple of days but cleared quickly.
Here are our interconnecting rooms, how neat is that? So there is a main doorway that opens onto the 2 bedrooms.

Infinity pool

Nice view from the gym, excuse what must be my finger

Jamaican Easter Spice Bun display at the local supermarket just outside of the hotel, the bun is eaten with slices of cheese

The rooms come with North American and European power outlets.

Pretty greenery outside the hotel

My Sauteed mackerel breakfast with boiled green bananas and steamed vegetables. I also had either corn meal or oatmeal porridge. They always have cereal, eggs, bacon, pancakes, french toast, hash browns, etc as well.

My Ackee and Saltfish with fried dumplings breakfast and oatmeal porridge. I also had a slice of spiced bun.

My cowfoot lunch selection with rice and peas (I missed the pig trotter day). You could also go to the grill for burgers, jerk chicken, grilled cheese sandwiches and fries. One day they had kidneys...I did pass on that one.

Street Security

Downtown Ocho Rios, just outside the hotel

Beach Sunset

Most mornings you would wake up to find a docked cruise ship. This is the view from our room.

Pretty swim up bar by the main pool

Watersport area

I only gained about 2 pounds!

On Vacation

Well, we're off on vacation starting this weekend, so I don't expect to be posting for the next week or so. Time to send out my contact emails to family and friends and finish packing. The kids are excited, I think it's the prospect of meeting new friends and socializing in a holiday setting. I hope they'll like this place as we stayed at a different hotel last year. Of course, I'm looking forward to the food. All-inclusive works for us as everyone can help themselves to whatever they feel like. I made a mental note to stop eating when I'm full and that I don't have to taste every single dessert.

I went for a refreshing walk with my girlfriend this morning, it's a great way to start the day.

News

Twitter, Facebook beget the 'social chameleon' and self-surveillance

The war on plastic bags, from coast to coast

Investors starting to look on the bright side

Nothing Sure

The Natasha Richardson story has been bothering me since it happened. She's only 45 years old and it's such a freakish accident. There's nothing sure about life. The 'Parent Trap' movie that she starred in with Lindsay Lohan is one of my favourites.

I went for an early morning walk with my friend. I heard there was some excitement at the gym this morning. First, the fire alarm went off, then they had to evacuate the daycare on site. Then this hyper little boy tripped and gashed his head just inside the gym. The ambulance was called as there was lots of blood and a hysterical mother. I'm thinking that gashes in the head can be very bloody, but they are usually more horrible than they look. Well, I hope that's the case here.

I got L a new canvas for some art homework she has over the holidays, just a small one. K is now all set up with his new savings and chequing accounts. (All he needs is a job, I guess!)

We're going to visit M's mom this evening when L returns from her tennis lesson.

News

New study calls average water use by Canadians 'alarming'

Emotions may be clue to market's bottom

Pie in My Face

For the past 6 months I've been going on about counterfeit $5 bills. Today K and I were at the bank and I showed the 'bill' to the teller and was told in a 'matter-of-fact' manner that these are just old bills. She replaced my old one with a new one just to make me feel better. Then L and I checked the Bank of Canada website and it now makes perfect sense! Sorry about any confusion, we were way off track for any number of reasons but I had to let you all know asap.

St Patrick's Day

The plumber's here working on our main floor toilet that's been out of commission for a few weeks. He says he also does renovations so he's going to give us a quote for doing our bathroom upstairs.

K and I are going to the bank to open his own account, as you can do that when you're 13 and older, including his own debit card. Then he has a tennis lesson while L has an eyebrow threading appointment. Maybe I can find some new dress sandals today as I can only find one foot of my favourite pair and am devastated. K got new sandals as his feet have grown 2 sizes since last summer! He's also been doing sit ups and using M's hand weights. Cute.

A lot of kids L's age seem to be using March break to tour the universities. Maybe we should be doing the same.

It's supposed to go to 14C today! Wow.

News


Banks begin to decline federal aid in first sign of recovery

Researchers question wisdom of eating fish

St. Patrick The Man Much More Than The Myth

A Spring-Like Monday

K went to the orthodontist today for a checkup. Another 4 or 5 months and he'll be finished his treatment and the teeth are looking good. I spoke to the brilliant doctor and noticed he's now wearing a wedding ring! But I didn't think I should be too inquisitive. The pharmacist in the building had mentioned a while back that he was engaged. I told the receptionist I've forgotten what my body looks like underneath all the sweaters. She was wearing a pretty spring top.

We've decided to do a bowling party for K's birthday.

Our master bathroom upstairs needs a lot of work so it seems the best course is to do a renovation. Here we go again, we would've liked to have put this off for at least another year.


News

Here's a poignant story for today, it's called 'Living a life we never imagined - Being widowed at a young age is lonely and isolating, but you can't give up the effort to heal'

What happens to online social life when you die?

Some Insight Into the Meaning of Life

Laura Archer, a Canadian nurse who was working with Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders), was kidnapped in Sudan on Wednesday and released yesterday. Quoting the news article :

Archer, who had a degree in nursing from the University of Prince Edward Island, wrote an article for her alumni magazine in 2007 that described her decision to do charity work abroad.

She said that while working in San Francisco, she decided to travel the world. Archer sold all of her belongings and journeyed across Asia and the Middle East for 18 months. In 2004, she was in India, using her nursing skills to look after survivors of the Boxing Day Tsunami.

"Through this experience, the difference between being a tourist and a humanitarian became apparent to me -- and I knew which I wanted to be," Archer wrote.

"Working with Medecins Sans Frontieres has proven to be the most difficult and rewarding experience of my life."

I'm not saying this is right for everyone, but this person seems to have found the true meaning to her life, had an epiphany, if you will. Food for thought.

Life of Leisure

Well, the next week is to bring warm, sunny weather with a high of 8C today! A friend and I went for a cool walk this morning, and it's been warming up ever since. I'm trying to find L's first tax receipt because my friend says her husband will do it for me (he enjoys it!), darned if I can find where I 'safely' put it. I used to do our tax returns using computer software, but since I became a homemaker the thought of paperwork has become as unappealing as laundry. Priorities change, I guess. I'm hankering after a life of leisure with self imposed purpose.

News

Drummer pays $317,200 for rare Superman comic

Global mess gives birth to new era

More Counterfeit Small Bills

Note that as of Mar 17, 2009 I discovered the 'fake $5' is actually just an older note.

So last night K realized he'd been passed a fake $10 bill from a dollar store he had been in last week. It's also missing the reflective strip. Then I almost got passed a fake $5 at a Tim Horton's coffee shop in the evening. I feel like taking these bills to the local newspaper to ask them to raise public awareness.

While I'm in paranoia mode, M told me that in Italy, you wear your purse and camera straps inside your jacket as thieves drive by in motorcycles and slash the straps for a quick getaway. No one's been killed, but sometimes the slasher can cut your arm in the rush.

Well, the kids are getting excited about our upcoming Jamaica vacation and we were at the mall in the last hour getting a few clothes and things. We also got L a gorgeous spring leather jacket earlier today at the Danier Leather sale, thanks to a helpful, experienced salesgirl. She's over the moon.

News

Dos and Don'ts: The Denim Edition

Study shows link between heart attacks, traffic jams

Researchers show they can erase memories in mice

Minor Salt Cutback Has Major Health Benefits

A few more (really good) excuses to hit the gym

Lighthouse Waves

This is a magnificent lighthouse Waves video in Brittany, France compliments of The Bold Soul.

How rich are you? Check out The Global Rich List, you might be surprised. I found this on The Clutter Diet Blog.

L's French class had a French food day today, so she and her little group chose to make crepes for the class. I have an old crepe maker that was quite a success as a lot of people didn't seem to even know there is such a thing. It sort of looks like an upside down fry pan. They brought in ice cream and fresh fruit toppings.


News

True Or False: Take Our Food Myth Quiz

Low vitamin D linked to health problems in teens

An Interesting Evening

L had an anti-bullying day at her school recently. Then later on in one of her classes, a teacher broke down crying. She explained to the class that the session had brought back memories that she herself was bullied every day at school during her childhood. She had been a recent immigrant from Iran. L says she has a very stern, off-putting personality and dresses a bit differently, with shirts tucked into pants worn high on her waist . She's never married.

Last night, M briefly brought home a co-worker visiting from the company's California office. He was a tall, lean Chinese man (about 6 ft 2 ins) in a nice black suit. He had an elegant Australian accent and I'd guess early thirties. So he's an Australian that is now living in the U.S. and in fact recently married an American girl and they're in no hurry to have kids. For some reason we got talking about investments and he said he's fared well in the recession as most of his investments are currently in Australian real estate. He dabbled a bit in mining stocks which at one point were riding quite high and he seemed to have a systematic, timed way of unloading his stocks, never being greedy. (A skill I have yet to learn, I'm a buy and hold forever kind of person). Then I asked him what part of Australia he's from and he said 'Sydney' at which point I interject 'Oh that's not the capital, is it? It's Canberra!' Ok, I'm showing off my newfound intelligence compliments of Lilly. Albeit, I pronounced Canberra with the emphasis on the second syllable and he said it with the emphasis on the first syllable. He said a lot of Australians tend to visit the western part of Canada (British Columbia) for the skiing. All in all, an interesting evening for me.


News

Screening, blood test can spot early ovarian cancer

Acne is another bump from the recession

Human-like robot smiles, scolds in Japan classroom

The secret Canadian exercise weapon: Walking

I still qualify

Note that as of Mar 17, 2009 I discovered the 'fake $5' is actually just an older note.

I was at my bank today and the lady opened a US mastercard account for me as a homemaker. It was nice to know I can still qualify for my own credit card as I thought you had to have a job to do that. She says 'You do have a job, and a difficult one, I'll bet'. Mind you, I'm a long standing customer at this institution. While I was at it, I opened one for M too. Seriously, I've kept most of my own credit cards since the time that I worked as it's always good to build your own credit rating. Interestingly, the bank lady doesn't know about these fake $5 bills going around, so I will make a point to bring one in to show her next time.

K had an early dental appointment this morning and was most displeased that he was done quite early and he would not miss as much school as he thought. He says the latest expression at school these days is 'Are you having a Chris Brown moment?' which must be when you look like you're about to lose your temper! I heard that Oprah Winfrey said on TV 'Rihanna, if you were my friend and I knew you I'd tell you that if he hits you once, he is going to do it again'. True enough.


News

Social networking sites overtake email in popularity

More vitamin C may lower chances of gout

Children of older fathers have lower IQs, study finds

More evidence that depression is hard on the heart

Study: Belligerent chimp proves animals make plans

You know you've hit bottom when the talking stops

Rummed Bananas

So I was looking forward to finishing that box of Laura Secord French and Frosted mints with a cup of tea...and they're all gone! Well, now I'll just have to get some more.

We left the house earlier this morning because K had a sports practice, combined with the daylight savings time... and it was dark and snowing out. L had a really busy weekend so she's totally exhausted. She stayed up for a good part of the night editing and backing up this video she and her little group made for their French project, which seems to have taken up a good part of her weekend.

I found this simple recipe and it's a great way to use up bananas before they ripen too much and everyone around here likes it.

Jamaican Rummed Baked Bananas


News

Some Companies Still Hiring Despite The Recession

Southern Canadians More Active Than Northerners:

Buffett says U.S. economy has 'fallen off a cliff'

Firenze

Well, M made it back from Italy. He thought Florence(Firenze) was a pretty town (crowded, in particular full of teenagers L's age, sounds like fun) with Milan being more of a big city. K would've loved seeing all the Ferraris parked around. M thought everyone there seemed slim and in shape, I guess compared to North Americans (that's not good for us).

Ironically, I've been finishing up a box of Laura Secord French and Frosted mints the past 2 days, are they ever delicious. I figure if I have 2 a day? Luckily there are only a couple left.

Going to watch 'The Amazing Race' tonight. Last week's episode was entertaining when this older brother kept calling all the shots, refusing to listen to his sister's valid suggestions and couldn't admit being wrong right till the end when he burst into unexplained tears. Fortunately for him, they were able to stay in the race. Hmm.

News

Spring Ahead, Whether You Want To Or Not

How long will it take to rebuild my nest egg?

Fifty-Dollar-an-Hour Earning Power

Near Smothering

There was a near smothering at the birthday party K attended last night. There were 16 boys in the house and a bunch of them were in the basement. There was a foam couch and some of them decided to place it on top of one of the boys then pile up on top of the couch. A few of them realized it wasn't a game anymore when they heard the boy screaming that he couldn't breathe. Even then, they didn't stop until one of the sensible boys started almost single-handedly ripping boys off the couch. K said he tried to help but didn't think he was strong enough (My son! He's stronger than he knows, just not very physical). He said the poor kid was all red and took a few minutes to recover. The worst part is that half of them were sleeping over. The parents were upstairs and probably don't know anything untoward happened. K said the mother was more concerned about who broke her vase in another incident.

So I think K's birthday party can just be dinner and a movie when the time comes, and just a handful of kids.

News

3 of 5 recovery signs in place

4-Yr.-Old Wins Personal Tropical Island In Lottery

How to make a million before you graduate

Spring Forward

Well, the weekend is upon us. K is heading out to a birthday party directly after school. I'm bringing a couple of friends over with L to work on a French project after school and they'll come again tomorrow evening to finish up. The weather being a springlike 14C, I'm planning to go for a walk with a friend this evening, hopefully before dark. I'll make some spaghetti and meat sauce before the kids come this afternoon and I'm good to go.

I finally found a roll of ready to eat polenta to make this Tex-Mex shepherd's pie recipe that I've held onto. Perhaps I can do that sometime next week.

K's intelligent remark this morning was that the Mercedes driving in front of us is the most-ticketed kind of car. Which made us think that red sports cars driven by young men must come a close second.

M is off to Florence for the rest of the weekend before heading home. I've asked for a figurine of Michaelangelo's 'David', we'll see if he finds one.

Don't forget the clocks spring forward in this part of the world Sunday morning.

News

Hero to breast cancer patients

Ladies, try not to lose sleep when the clock springs forward

Optimistic women live longer, study finds

Money Rules for Marriage the Second (or Sixth) Time Around

The T-Mobile Dance

I got this in an email this morning and thought it was worth sharing


'Subject: Smile for today...
Life's for sharing by T-Mobile Last Friday Jan 16, 2009, T-Mobile launched their new commercial C2. It was shot at Liverpool station in London. They used 400 dancers and 10 hidden cameras. No one but the station employees And dancers knew what was going on... it was aired on You Tube and TV and you can see the number of passers by that shot what they could with their Mobile phones. It has to be the best commercial yet..... enjoy!!!!!'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ3d3KigPQM

I've recently started following this recipe blog called Tastefully Done. It's a pleasure to see the delicious new recipes pop up every now and then.

Well, I baked a trout fillet today, and made some pork chops, as I think we've had enough fast food this week. K likes the fish with just lemon pepper and tarragon.

L and her friend got chosen as camp counsellors at the spring confirmation retreat that their school does. It's neat because she was one of the confirmation candidates herself a few years ago. Her resume is going to be so full of accomplishments if she doesn't lose track of them all.

K found out that another school friend will be moving on to the same high school next year. When K warned him of the bullying threat, he said 'Man, we're dead'. Then they decided they'll just have to stick together.

News

Facebook: Taking a cue from Twitter in sharing?

TV neither helps nor harms toddlers, study finds

Canadians find new therapy for severe asthma

Biology Trivia

Note that as of Mar 17, 2009 I discovered the 'fake $5' is actually just an older note.

L gave me some biology trivia for today. If you place your hand just above your adam's apple and swallow, you will feel your epiglottis move. That is the flap that covers your windpipe when you swallow so you don't choke. She also discovered that if you were to cut a piece of heart muscle off and lay it on a napkin, it would continue to pulse and move indefinitely because that is the nature of how those cells work.

I was at the Chinese fast food mall earlier this week picking up some noodle dishes (lazy cook week) and the lady at the sticky rice counter tried to pass me a fake $5 bill, but I told her to give me another one. Watch yourselves, folks!

News

The math of a happy marriage

Cosmetics And Infertility: Is There A Link?

Religion protects against stress, study suggests

Best Job in the World

Three Ontario, Canada residents are in the running for the 'Best Job in the World' Australian promotion and have a look at one of the contestants: Mitchell
...it's an entertaining pitch. There's a more detailed news clip below.


News

Three Ontario Residents In Running For "Best Job In The World"

Why Facebook is losing its cool

Around The World, Women Thought More Responsible With Money Than Men

The Foods That Will Boost Your Immune System

Shopping and cooking on a budget

If the shoe fits

Today's Thoughts

Slow news day, (Mondays?) although I did find a news article that Lilly might like to read.

The bright, sunny day belies the intense cold outside, because it simply screams spring. Barbara Blundell is displaying a lovely photo of daffodils from a corner of her garden. It made me think of a poem by William Wordsworth (I wandered lonely as a cloud) that I had to memorize with expression for a school elocution contest as a child. I grew up in Jamaica, but as it was a British colony, I guess that's what they taught us although we had no daffodils growing in the area!

Japra and I are happy with our teenagers, but I've recently been hearing stories of regular drunken weekend parties that high school students attend and it's sounding like the norm. So we can't take anything for granted. Everyone wants to be popular and a part of the 'in' crowd.

Well, those are my thoughts for today.


News

The dynastic plastic of Barbie

100 Item Bucket List

Here's a meme I found courtesy of The Boomer Chronicles

It’s called the bucket list (or 'Things I have done'):

If you want to play along just copy this and then bold the things you've done.
Here's my bucket list:


I HAVE…

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii — Hattie, you should substitute ‘Newark, N.J.’, for ‘Hawaii’
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Ridden an elephant

Ok, I'm not very adventurous, but it was fun to do anyway!
Thanks for the idea to do this, Rhea.