Harry Potter

I have just finished reading this book and since I am on holidays I was able to read it quite quickly. I am sure that you all know what the storyline is so I don't need to go into too much detail if any. I am now watching the movie as a finale to the first part of the series. My next book....yep you've guessed it, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Vanishing Acts

So I have recently finished this book here and it was quite a good book since it did keep my attention and made me want to read more. This story took place in Arizona about a girl who found out she was not who she really thought she was and had to try and piece back her memories and try to figure out who she was/is and who she wanted to be.

My next story to read is because of the hype of the new book released across the world. I have to decided to start at the beginning though with book number one: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

The Beach

This past week Choo Choo and I went to the beach. We tried the week before but it was cooler and we couldn't stay that long because the big storm clouds advanced on us. This time though, it was a beautiful day. Finally there were no clouds and the sun shone all afternoon. We had a nice picnic lunch and then enjoyed playing in the sand and the water. She loved running and falling in the water. We saw a few motor boats and after they went past the beach we enjoyed being bobbed up and down from their waves. I left her to build her own little mud castles she really likes to mix the sand with the water and throw the mud back into the water. I think I did get a little too much sun even though I did put sunscreen on. Choo Choo got a few more slathers of it then I did. I plan to go back in the next few weeks while the family are away on their vacation. Maybe I'll bring a book with me too.

Happy Birthday

Last night I was invited to this amazing party and not for kid duty. I was around all week at work watching the ordeal unfold and was finally able to see the final touches. The Mom I work for celebrated her birthday and because it was such a big thing the Dad decided to go all out. They hired a caterer Shaz, he is a very interesting man. They had a huge tent put up out in the backyard in case of rain, which did happen over and over again. There were about 100 people and I was to that I knew some of them and met a lot of nice people. Including a fire fighter who will be letting me know his work schedule so that the kids get a great tour of the fire station.The kids were very well behaved and had some other children to play with too. One special thing that I really enjoyed was the mariachi band. They played most of the night. I did get a chance to talk to them too. 2 of them are from Mexico and one is from Argentina. They were so tiny and cute. I left at about 11pm and the kids were still up looking like zombies but at least they will have a nice quiet day today to get things back to normal.

Happy Birthday!!

Harry Potter

I was so excited to go see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I even went out in the afternoon just so that I could get tickets before they ran out. The movie was amazing. Harry is growing up so fast and is learning more and more about himself every time. I really did like this new character not sure of her name but she is very different from the others. She is very blond and looks at things in a different way. I can't believe that there is only going to be 2 more and that they "final" book will be out in stores next week.

Biking

So I have made it my duty this summer to teach Nugley to ride with two wheels. Dad tried last year but was unsuccessful. This is a new year, he is a little older and there is a reward of a kickstand to entice him with. As we got started we put on his helmet, elbow pads and knee pads and had a few words together on where to put each foot and why (he is a very technical boy and absorbs everything). Fortunately he lives on a court so there is little to no traffic and he has this great little circle which is just long enough for this occasion. So off we go down the driveway and around the bend, corners are always hard to do so I held on a little tighter at that time. By the time we made it around once he wanted to try again. I let go a little more and didn't say so until we got back again. He did have a crash into the garage but I pointed out that it does happen, he will fall, that he is still learning and that maybe he should just take a rest for a while and try again in a little while. 10 minutes later he was ready to go. In the afternoon we all got in the car and headed over to Walmart to get him his kickstand. When Daddy got home he was ready to surprise him with his "new" bike. Daddy was so excited and proud of him. Then Mommy got home and was shown the same. Now he has been riding two wheels since Thursday and can go down the street and back on his own. He is also looking forward to taking his bike to Nantucket this summer as it is a "biking island". I am so proud of him and happy that I was able to be here to see him grow.

Canada Day

Yesterday was Canada's 140th Birthday. I started off the day with a 10k race which started along the Alexandra Bridge on the Gatineau side and as we ran we passed the National Art Gallery, then across the front of the Chateau Laurier around towards the National Arts Centre. Now we approach the locks along the Rideau Canal and head downhill behind the Parliament Buildings. We go west along the river to the Parkway and pass the Canadian War Museum then we turn around on the Parkway and head over the Portage Bridge which will take us back to Gatineau and we head down Laurier passing by the Museum of Civilization and ending at Jacques Cartier Park. I managed to finish 6 seconds faster than my last 10k race in May. Woo Hoo!!!

After a lot of resting, Cheryl, Will and I went out to Kanata for some food and to watch the World Cup game (Canada lost). Then we headed across the street for some fireworks. I was quite pleased with both the turn out and the show. There was a fair like party going on so we went on a few rides and bought some yummy cotton candy.

Happy Birthday Canada!!!

Reading

So I have given up on reading Keeping Faith for a while I've read 137 pages and I still can't quite get into it. I am setting it aside for now and I may pick it up again soon. For the meantime I will be reading Vanishing Acts. My sister brought it back for me when she went to Montreal for a week. It is about a woman who is raising young daughter and is engaged when parts of her past is coming back to the surface, parts that she had forgotten about and is now presented as a threat. Hopefully after this book I will be able to go back to the other book.

Thursday

So Thursday was my last day to have Nugley in the morning so I thought we would go mini putt. I thought it opened at 10 am so we went to the mall first to look around and picked up a bird cottage to paint and build. When we got to the mini putt place I found out it wouldn't be opened until noon and I had to pick up Choo Choo by that time. So Nugley and I went back home and painted his bird cottage. Mom and Dad were both home getting ready for a camping trip and suggested that I take the 2 kids mini putting in the afternoon. During their QT (quiet time) I was thinking about it but was unsure about 2 kids with putters in a small proximity to each other so I thought bowling was a better idea. They loved it and it was even Choo Choo's first time playing. She jumped for joy every time she knocked over any pin. I definitely think I will do this again especially when it is a dreary day. Now my summer has officially started both kids all day all week. It is nice though because this is what I really like doing.

Jack Pine Trail

So today is Wednesday, I've had 3 full days with Nugley and I think we are still getting adjusted to being around each other again. He is testing his limits and I am setting them for him. I decided he needed some more exercise and fresh air and since it was a beautiful day we went on a nature walk in the Greenbelt this specific walk was named Jack Pine Trail. It has a lot of boardwalks over the swamp/marshland and usually chickadees but we didn't find any even though we brought some food for them. We did however, see lots of frogs, some were on the path we were walking others in the swamp but then we couldn't only hear some bullfrogs chanting to each other. Nugley was searching for which one was making that sound and then he heard it from another area and had to look for it there too. We didn't see any deer this time which disappointed me. Oh well maybe next time.

China

So today I took Nugley to the Museum of Civilization we were going there to see Dinosaurs in the Imax theatre. We were there along with a bunch of different schools, luckily for us we were allowed in the theatre first and got some good seats. Nugley really liked the movie but was "a bit scared", not from the actual film but from how loud everything was. He does have tender ears considering how he has been through 3 sets of tubes in both of his ears. Before going to see Dinosaurs we had about an hour so we went to see this new exhibit about China. They had a lot of artifacts and material This exhibition arrived here on May 11 and will stay until October 28 when it will be shipped back to the Museum in Beijing. I have posted some of my favourite pieces.

The first one is a classical poem in cursive script written by Wang Wen.

The next one is a Red Lacquer Case with flower and bird designs.

This one is a stone slab with 12 small seal characters.

And finally this one on the right is a part of a painting Spring Snow 1997 by Wu Guangzhong (1919-). Guangzhong comes from Yixing Jiangsu Province. Following his studies in France, he taught at Qinghua University and the Central Art College. Wu specialized in oils and ink-and-wash landscapes, and has become known for creating a new form of contemporary Chinese painting, which not only integrates Chinese and Western techniques and concepts, but also blends abstract ideas with realistic representations.

First Day of Summer

Now I know it isn't officially the first day of summer but it is for Nugley. He graduated from JK last Friday and is now enjoying his summer. Since Choo Choo still has one more week of school before her holidays, I have taken it upon me to do some fun one on one things with Nugley (mainly because this will be my last summer with them). So today was a great day for STRAWBERRY picking. He was so excited and couldn't wait to get to the farm. There were already a few other people there too. I bought one small basket and one big one. He chose the big one to fill up but asked if I would help him. It took him a while to get started because after he picked each strawberry he had to ask me if it was a good one. I went along with it for a while then eventually mentioned to him that all the red ones were good ones. So away he went. I filled my "little" basket and started helping him. He did get to try one (and told on me for it to Dad because I didn't wash it first).I took us a good hour mainly because there weren't a lot of ripe ones out yet but they will come within the next few days. Here is Nugley showing off one of his prized picks. We ate some after lunch and for snack after "quiet time" plus they were requesting some for dessert after supper when I was leaving. I think I may have to make another trip to the Strawberry Patch.
I am using my strawberries for dipping in chocolate and making daiquiris.

Today

So today has been quite an interesting day of me doing NOTHING!!!!! I arrive at my usual time of 7:30 and get the kids their breakfast, dress them and hurry them out of the house to get them to 2 different schools. Normal so far. I get to the parents office as usually but it doesn't officially open until 10 today, I stay until about 11:30 so I can go and pick Choo Choo up from school and bring her home from lunch. As soon as we walk in the door the phone rings, it's Mom saying that she needs to take her at 12:30 for an assessment for a new school next year (no notice). OK....I guess I will quickly feed her and get her changed in about 10 min. Mom says that I should still pick up Nugley from his school at 3:20. No problem. Well at about 2:30 Dad calls and says he will pick up Nugley from school and he would see me after. So I have been sitting around their house with no kids and nothing to do (it makes the day go by really slow). Why wouldn't they just let me go home at this time, I really hope (because they didn't asked me before hand) that they are not expecting me to stay later because I know that they both have a department meeting tonight at the hospital. hmmmm......

A Sunny Weekend

This past weekend I went downtown Ottawa to the Byward Market. It was a very sunny day but luckily the humidity didn't return and we had a nice breeze. Our main reason for going downtown was so that Will could get a tattoo (Cheryl's pick). So after a few price quotes they decided on a dragon on the right shoulder blade. We had about 3 hours to wait so we went towards the market and took some pics of summer. We saw a few buskers doing their thing. This one was neat to watch with his "hula hoop". We also saw lots of flower stalls with all sorts of different types of flowers and plants. We picked up a few fresh veggies and fruits, some we ate while we were there, well some I ate. We even had to make a stop at the candy store for a few treats. In the market we also saw some artists creating some pieces using on chalk along the sidewalk. The picture I have is of a Picasso art not sure which one but looked nice and colourful. They have a lot of time on their hands and patience. I'm sure it'll look good when it is finished and all it takes is one rain fall to have it go and allow them to start again. Before heading back to the tattoo place we stopped to get an ice cream and while walking back we came across a "parade" if you could call it that. It was mainly a bunch of people (males and females) on bicycles riding through the city NAKED! I was a little unsure of the point of it but hey it's not me so it was interesting to see. They did have police escorts as well which was funny to see.

Finally we get back for his tattoo and it only took about 45 min. He was in a lot of pain, at least it looked that way. It turned out really good but to me it looked really big nothing I would ever get but he liked it and was very happy with it.

Stanley Cup Goes to Anaheim

WIN 2007 STANLEY CUP IN 5 GAMES!!!!!!

New York City

So this summer I am pleased to say that I am finally going to New York. I will be driving there from Ottawa with my two sisters and staying with my Aunt in New Jersey. I bought a book on what to see and do while there but I am still not sure what the one thing to do is. We are planning to go to Central Park, I didn't realize how big it is. We want to see Shakespeare in the Park, my sisters want to visit a store in SOHO called Anthropologie, and I did say they could choose one museum. So if any of you have a spot that is a "have to see" spot please let me know.

Nineteen Minutes

I have just finished reading Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. It is about a trial of a 17 year old boy, Peter Houghton, who was involved in a high school shooting. It makes reference to other school shootings which have happened, like Columbine. The Judge, Alex Cormier, on the trial has mixed feelings on whether she should sit in for the trial because her daughter was a student at the school. The book jumps around a lot from the day of the shooting and the past to know why this might have happened. The title Nineteen Minutes means that is how long it took before the shooter was found by the police. A good read and a surprise ending.

My next book on the list is Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult.

52:26

So this past weekend, well actually it was yesterday, I ran 10k along with 7538 other people which was part of the National Capital Race weekend. There was a 2k, 5k, 10k, half Marathon and full Marathon. My sister Cheryl ran the 5k with Scott, where Scott took off right at the end to beat her. I ran the 10k with Will. He was ahead of me during the first few kilometres and then I lost sight of him so I just focused on my race. My goal time was 50 min. and in the 10k they provide pace bunnies so when the 50 min bunny ran past me I decided to stay with him. It wasn't as easy as I thought because there were so many people in this race that I had to try and weave through the people and avoid the people who decided to stop and walk suddenly. So basically, I lost my friend the pace bunny. But I did feel good through the race not too sore or too tired. I finished the race at 52 min and 26 seconds which beat my time last year by 4 min. I was the 267th female to finish out of 3661, and the 47th in my age category out of 574. I had a pace of 5:20. Oh, and I ended up beating Will as well. Unfortunately me and everyone else who came to watch forgot a camera so we don't have any pics of us on that day. Next year I plan to run a half marathon.

NHL Playoffs 2007 (Stanley Cup Final)

I am choosing Anaheim Ducks to win the Stanley Cup after 7 full games maybe some might even go to overtime. Maybe I think this way because yes I am a Leafs fan and no there is no way I could ever cheer for the Sens. But the same would it be if the Leafs were in the playoffs, you wouldn't see the Sens fans cheer on the Leafs. If you see all the hype here in Ottawa and to be real in all of Canada everyone wants the Cup to come to Canada, well, I do too. It will be in Canada a lot more if Anaheim wins because Anaheim has 20 CANADIAN players including their captain and Ottawa has only 14 Canadian players. Good luck to both teams but I guess Ottawa needs the most luck since they are going to lose this round.

A Long Weekend

I went to Ingleside today to visit my grandmother. She has not been feeling well lately so I think the visit helped her spirits a bit. Also my Aunt was visiting from Toronto. So it was nice to catch up with her as well. We had a nice lunch in Cornwall. We started to go to the Marina which is on the St. Lawrence Seaway but when we got there we realized that they are closed on Mondays, so we headed over to Don Cherry's. It was a nice way to spend the end of a long weekend.

On our way home we saw these signs and had to stop and get some pictures taken. We even got Scott in one of them.