Five(s) by four

Posted on October 29, 2011 by Sherry

While catching up on some blog reading I found Angella’s list of fives. Today is one of those days where it’s beautifully sunny but it’s only about 5C (35F) outside, so I feel like doing things around the house. I have plans to start pulling out the warmer clothing while packing away summer clothes, doing inspections of winter gear so I know what still fits everyone and what needs replacing, cleaning the guinea pig cage, and watching a movie on Netflix (The Secret of NIMH) with the kids. I figured doing my own list would be a nice fit for a half-lazy, half-productive Saturday at home.

Five things you don’t know about me:

This is kind of hard, really. I’ve been writing online for so long I’m not sure what great revelations I can give you but since not everyone has been reading since day one (which is good because some of my old writing makes me cringe), I’ll throw out five random tidbits.

1. On my commute to work I keep anxiety at bay by listening to guided meditation on my iPod.

2. I really enjoy gospel music and if I’m not in the mood for meditation I listen to my Kirk Franklin playlist, particularly this one:

3. I have a huge burning desire to go to Prague. I wouldn’t mind seeing other parts of Europe if I had a chance but Prague is absolutely on my bucket list. I’ve had several dreams about being there and whenever I wake up I always feel a strange and vague homesickness.

4. I have a conversation with myself at least once a week about how I’m going to give up my daily cup of coffee. This conversation is usually followed by sitting down with my daily cup of coffee.

5. My celebrity claim to fame is hanging out with Corey Haim back in 1999 (maybe 2000? I forget which year). He was in Montreal to do some work on a movie (that went straight to DVD, alas) and he had an urge to record a song. A mutual contact suggested coming to the studio where George and I worked and I ended up sitting in the studio while he recorded it, and had pizza with him and his mom/manager. His singing was not particularly great and he didn’t really know what he wanted to do so George and Dino pretty much did it all for him, but I didn’t care. I’d spent my teenage years with his posters all over my wall and his movies on my “must see repeatedly” list, and it was NUTS to me that I was hanging out with him. He was incredibly nice, super polite, and a chatty person. I was so incredibly sad when I heard that he had died, he was way too young.

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Beach time! (In October? Yes! In October!)

Posted on October 28, 2011 by Sherry

Despite the fact that this is Canada and it can get pretty cold in the winter, and it is in fact starting to get downright chilly (I have the space heater churning away behind me as I type!), Thanksgiving weekend found us enjoying unseasonable October weather where it felt more like summer than fall. What else to do on a gorgeous, sunny, hot day than hit the beach, am I right? Admittedly it felt strange to be driving to the beach and passing tons of trees with changing leaves.

But I can deal with strange if it means that 15 minutes after walking out our front door I can be confronted with this:

When people would ask me why I would want to move to Halifax, I always like to joke that it’s because the ocean is here. In reality the reasons are much more complex than the scenery but I must say that it certainly doesn’t hurt to have the Atlantic just a little more than a stone’s throw away.

As much as I love Crystal Crescent Beach, it really doesn’t matter where I am. When I take the bus to work and I see the harbour as we drive along towards downtown Halifax, I still feel so much happiness. Even if I’m having a day where I miss people and things back home, seeing the water brings me back again. That never seems to change. It always makes me feel exactly like this:

Beach time in October? Oh yes. Yes please.

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As an aside, someone (don’t know who, but thank you!) nominated me for the Top 25 Canadian Mom Blogs. I’ve never ever won anything like that so if you could vote by clicking right here or on the badge in the right menu, I would so appreciate it. You can vote once every 24 hours. I’ll try not to harass you too much!

Catching up #2 – Visiting York Redoubt

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Sherry

A couple of weeks ago we hopped in the van and drove down to visit York Redoubt, a historical site that dates back to 1793; back in the day it was a major defense site that protected the entrance to the Halifax harbour.

It was an absolutely beautiful day to be walking around looking at all the cannons and old buildings. The view from up there is pretty spectacular too, and you can see why they chose that location to keep watch over the waters.

It’s a great place to go as a family to just explore. There’s a doorway that leads into a tunnel that goes down to the lower path, and the whole tunnel is made of damp rock. It’s sufficiently creepy!

One of the buildings still has some of the original equipment; in one room we saw a tiny pot-bellied stove (that is sadly crammed full of garbage because so many people suck) that was used for cooking food for the troops. The other room had a larger stove for heating cannon balls and the tools used to manipulate them. That was pretty cool to check out.

I’d love to go back one day when we have more time to hike along the trail that winds through the woods all the way down to the water’s edge. Breanna was up for it, as she always is when you stick her on a path in the woods, but they close up the door to the tunnel and the gates out of the parking lot right at 6 pm sharp and we didn’t want to risk taking too long to get back. We’ll go another time but that likely won’t be until late spring since the days are getting a bit chilly now.

It was a great visit though and it was nice to spend part of our day absorbing the history here. (You can see the full set of photos over here.)

Catching up#1 – Hayley’s 9th birthday

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Sherry

Between learning a whole other brainful of new stuff at work and the fact that I’m now on a 1pm to 9pm shift, I’ve been sadly neglecting this site. I always mean to update in the mornings or on the weekends but mornings are when I try to squeeze in my yoga before catching my bus and weekends have been filled with other activities. By the time I get home from work I am definitely too tired to update at that hour and I prefer to spend the two hours before bedtime hanging out with George. Still, I hate losing so many days that I really do want to remember so I’m going to play a bit of catch-up over the next several days.

All the way back in September, September 20th to be precise, Hayley entered her last year of single digits by turning nine years old. It was a school day but she didn’t mind because she had already made some really good friends and one of them even gave her a few gifts, including a book and a necklace. The principal gave her a special birthday pencil and she got a notepad and card from her homeroom teachers.

As for me, luckily I was still on either my 8:30-4:30 or my 9-5 shift (I forget which now) so I was home in plenty of time to watch Hayley open presents and to enjoy a birthday dinner with her. George’s parents were still in town as well because they had come down for George’s cousin’s wedding, so they came for dinner along with George’s aunt, so we were able to have a little family party.

Breanna picked out a cute little princess set with fancy shoes and a handbag; so many kids are growing up so much faster than we want them to so I’m very happy that Hayley still likes to play dress-up with princess gear.

She also got some nice clothes to wear. That’s always handy because now that she doesn’t have to wear a uniform to school, I have to think more about what she’ll put on each morning. Then she opened her present from us, which was a pretty big hit. Since Hayley loves to sing (she even joined the choir at her school, I’m so happy about that!) we got her the Disney Karaoke game for the Wii which comes with a USB mic. She knows quite a few of the songs and has done pretty well in the scoring.

(For the record I’d like to point out that I belted out Nick Jonas’ “Who I Am” and the Wii said I was – and I quote – AWESOME. So there.)

She also got a few, er, monetary gifts. I love how insane she looks here.

She ended up using most of her birthday funds to go and buy herself a nice mp3 player that also plays video and has a camera (both still shots and video).

After a nice supper of pasta, as per the birthday girl’s request, we sand “Happy Birthday” to her and she got a nice big piece of cake.

All in all, she had a great day from morning straight through until bedtime.

Still, though. Nine. NINE. I haven’t quite figured out how that’s possible, but nine it is!

Beach yoga

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Sherry

Much to my shock, what with being a Canadian who is very used to Canadian-esque weather, Thanksgiving weekend was ridiculously beautiful and warm. Despite the fact that it’s fall and we’ve had some pretty chilly days and cold nights, the entire weekend was above 20C which is all but unheard of.

Taking full advantage, on Saturday we went to check out an old fort called York Redoubt. It was really nice and I’d like to go back when we have more time to do the hike down through the woods to the water. On Sunday it was so hot we ended up at the beach. Because it was Thanksgiving weekend it wasn’t too packed either. We were silly enough to tell the kids they weren’t going swimming so naturally they waded in right in their clothes and soaked themselves up to their waist. Naturally! Then on Sunday we went to have a delicious Thanksgiving dinner with friends and family and all the kids played outside most of the day.

I haven’t had a chance to dump any pictures off my camera yet but I did shoot some video of some beach yoga and was able to edit one. It was the first time that I did a voice-over narration and I still strongly dislike listening to my own voice on a recording, but overall I’m pleased with it.

I had originally wanted the ocean in the background but there were too many people in the shot and the camera would have been aimed at the sun which doesn’t create very good lighting. In the end I really like the beach grass behind me and the lighting was much better.

Hopefully I can post an update with some of the pictures from the weekend soon!

The Atlantic Film Festival in Halifax Nova Scotia

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Sherry

Exciting for both tourists and locals are the great events that are held in Halifax throughout the year. One such event that is especially popular is the Atlantic Film Festival. Held over 10 days, the event recognises films from local provinces, as well as from all over the world.

This is considered to be one of the top four film festivals that are held in Canada and it is a great event to attend. If it gets to the time when this festival will be held, those involved bustle around to make sure everything is ready. All the while attendees amuse themselves by going shopping or playing Foxy Bingo, while eagerly awaiting the opening day.

The series of outdoor screenings, alFresco filmFesto, was started in 2001 and has quickly grown into a hotly-anticipated event. Held in the summer on the Halifax waterfront, hundreds of movie fans flock to each screening and it is always a resounding success.

A year after the launch of alFresco filmFesto, ViewFinders: International Film Festival for Youth was started. It is geared towards children of school age, their families and teachers. Held during April and lasting for five days, the festival consists of screenings, panels, workshops and even a ViewFinders Movie Challenge.

The role that the Atlantic Film Festival plays in the world of film and television in Atlantic Canada is a significant one. The wide range of master-classes, panels and workshops help to raise people’s awareness of the way the industry is developing, and allow them to practice and learn the skills that are essential to making it in the film industry today.

Furthermore, the Inspired Script program allows people to pitch their scripts to potential buyers and others can dissect documentaries in order to learn how to make the best of their ideas. The Atlantic Film Festival’s Industry Session will help attendees to develop their skills further, meet people and make valuable connections.

Chaos Theory

Monthly Archives: October 2011