The devastating tsunami as rendered in the movie is a cruel reminder of what matters most in life. Family. Kindness. Brothers. Compassion. Strangers. Humanity. We watched the movie with the kids. I cried almost the entire movie. That was expected. But even Sushi did.
I have taken a long break from blogging. We recently went on a month-long vacation to the opposite side of the world. While on the long flight leaving Toronto, I watched The Odd Life of Timothy Green. Coming back, I watched Hope Springs (Meryl Streep & Tommy Lee Jones).
The movie is average but the theme reminds me of Big Mama’s timeless words of wisdom. That there will be frustrations throughout the marriage but to never forget the very reasons you fell in love with each other.
Took the boys to watch Dr Seuss' The Lorax this weekend. Here they pose with Alvin and the Chipmunks.
For lunch Sushi wanted to try something different, and "not Chinese." We passed by a Red Lobster on the way to where we're supposed to have lunch. And Sushi insisted we go there. So Red Lobster it is.
Biscuits on the house. I heart freebies =]
Sushi craved for squid like he is expecting. So we had to order this. I find the Fried Calamari of Blue Mountain's Firehall Pizza Co. much better.
We shared the Maritime Lobster & Shrimp Trio (lobster tail, garlic-grilled shrimp, and lobster & shrimp mac 'n' cheese and the sides). Don't count the calories just yet.
How about Crab Linguini Alfredo to boot.
While Mr & Mrs Hotpot went deep fried and cream sauce overload here, Sushi came out most satisfied from this meal. And from the movie. This day was meant for the kids anyway.
With 2 kids and the daily mundane, gone are the days of following Oprah, Ellen, and Prison Break. I have no time to watch TV. Well, except for that one day I would watch The OSCARS. But that was after a long debate because it would end at midnight on a worknight. We now have a discipline of staying at home one day on the weekend to watch a movie or an episode of Desperate Housewives among others. DH is the only one we follow now and we can't even watch it when it airs (zzz.zzz.zzz) so we watch it on On Demand.
My last two weeks were tearjerking. It’s a coincidence that all that we watched have a common thread – raising kids while coping with the loss of the spouse. That to me means a lot of tears =[
We Bought A Zoo is more touching that I thought. After you watch it, it makes you want to watch it again, download the soundtrack, go to the zoo with the kids, and - when you don't know what else to say to Why - say "Why not?"
For the Best Picture and Actor nomination. And for Hawaii. I was sure this was going to be in my watch list.
Please pass the Kleenex on this scene in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. We now often refer to Oskar Schell if we talk maps, scrapbooks and hiding spots.
Desperate Housewives is on its last season. Boohoo. Goodbye, Mike Delfino (above scene). I'm going to miss Carlos' and Tom's characters. DH writers - you're the best!
What I like more in the movie Twilight: The Breaking Dawn (Part1) is its soundtrack, especially Christina Perri's A Thousand Years, played at the end credits.
Sushi: Mom, he's not a really good baseball player, you know.
Mom: Because he's not a baseball player, S. He's Brad Pitt.
I knew I was going to watch Moneyball because of my own budding Peter Brand, played by Jonah Hill.
Yup, not Billy Beane.
See the semblance?
He got these books for Christmas last year. The Almanac is his favourite. Judging from its use and abuse, yellow and orange markers, folds and overly-flipped pages, it must be. It's his sports bible.
After he got the Sports Illustrated: Basketball book on his birthday. He said he wish he could find a baseball version, too. When I saw it in Costco I was sure he was going to want it. He got it for Christmas.
Whether he becomes a Peter Brand, a Billy Beane, a baseball player or none of the above, I know he will always have a little of them all. I can see it now, and I can tell it's going to stay with him whatever he turns out to be.
Upon the recommendation of my movie-junkie brother, I watched my second Woody Allen movie (the first was Match Point). Allen's movies are not really my type - dragging, most of the time entailing scrutiny, and having to listen intently to the dialogue, if not “reading" it (subtitles). But Midnight in Paris ain’t bad. And the more [what my brother calls] “the big idea” of this movie is being discussed in blogs, radio or between me and him, I'd say I really really like it =]
That's the beauty of Allen's latest heartwarming installment to his extended love affair with Europe: living in the present doesn't have to be dream-deprived. While a prolonged departure from everyday and unrelenting refusal to embrace daily life can lead to naive delusions, allowing a dose of escapism, and even thriving on it, doesn't necessarily hurt. Or at least that's what Allen's vicarious wish-fulfillment through Gil Pender tries to convey.
A poignant message in an artistic form by a creative writer and genius that is Woody Allen. Live in the present. Embrace it. Daydream a little.
Not the appropriate movie to watch at the beginning of the year. Because it's sooo sad. Blame it on the musical score. I cried so many scenes - especially the part where the Dad told Dexter to live as if Emma is alive, *sniff*, and that's he has done it himself for the past 10 years, *sniff*. Nice touching movie, but too sad to watch it again.
Sushi who's now in Gr2 doesn’t get much homework from school. So I supplement it. He knows that every day when he comes home from school, he’ll first have snacks and do homework before playing, sports or screen time. He also knows that he may not have any homework from school, but he has “homework from Mom”. Tsk tsk tsk. Our after-school activities, a.k.a. homework, includes but not limited to the following:
Math worksheets – now it's multiplication with carry-over, graph and charts, problem-solving
Writing – makings lists; and now he's tracing numbers in Mandarin : 一，二，三，…九，十
Books – at least one a day, and should be able to retell or predict the ending
Free Choice – now he's so into baseball cards,writing baseball stats and players
Grocery – should be observing and participating, but most times he just plays DS =[
Library – borrow sports/auto magz, books, DVDs, check-out himself & note the date they're due (he has his own library card)
Talking Current Events – i.e. 9/11 Attack, the wedding of the Duke & Duchess, Gaddafi's death, natural disasters and sports talk with Dad
Prayer – before bedtime; proper structure of praying – A.C.T.S.
Movies – animated or not, any one that stimulates the thoughts. Last night we watched The Truman Show. He was fascinated when I told him the plot of the movie, real vs fake, fact vs fiction.
The kids laughed so hard in this rain scene. It was priceless watching them. Okay, this is off-topic.
There's a lot to learn from the everyday things, not just from textbooks. You'd think I’m being the Tiger Mother. Far cry. I do infuse some fun into these activities. I seriously do! But also, I want to instill a good discipline with homework and time management. It’s tougher when he gets to higher level.
Dig into this pot full of delectables on food, home, fashion & family life of an average mom of 2 boys (Sushi & Sashimi) who stirs this pot if not on the day job.
