Thought Dump Thursday

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Welcome to another (overdue) edition of Thought Dump Thursday, where I throw out all my mind garbage into the open…

  • I’m curious to know how long someone stays engaged while watching Instagram Stories. I know each “slide” only lasts 15 seconds, but how long do you watch before checking out? Personally, I’ll watch the first 30 seconds or so to see if it engages me, but I generally swipe left if I see a huge row of tiny little lines at the top of someone’s story, or I’ll rapidly tap through just to clear it out of my feed. (Sometimes there IS something interesting in all of that.)

UPDATE: I FIGURED OUT HOW TO MUTE STORIES! Salvation has been found.

  • Those who tell me that babies are easier than puppies are crazy. Sure, I’m constantly yelling at the dogs to stop roughhousing, but Sam isn’t waking me up four times a night needing to eat or have his diaper changed, plus my boobs aren’t leaking milk everywhere and I’m not feeling like a shell of a human.
  • Can someone please explain to me the hype behind Rachel Hollis? This is an honest request because I don’t understand it. People seem to love or hate her, and I can kind of see why from both sides. I’ve read none of her books but judging by the reviews it’s not my cup of tea.
  • I wish that on Instagram there was an option for people to send a short message along with Follow requests. I’ve had a few requests lately from fitness-type accounts, (mainly from the US as well) but I have no idea how they came across my profile. Aside from the odd running-related post, my Instagram account isn’t fitness-y at all.
  • Is anyone else super skeptical of the new live version of Aladdin? I love Will Smith and all, but I’m not sold on him as the Genie and will be a Robin Williams loyalist until the day I die on this one. I’m also on the fence with the revised Dumbo movie coming out. This may make me sound like I had a horrible childhood, but I promise you, I didn’t! I’m just a Disney purist. I’m all for Toy Story 4 though.
  • Using the word “Millennial” makes me cringe, (I hate being lumped into this stereotype of a generation) but anyone who can be considered a Millennial should never plead ignorance to not knowing or realize that their social media posts are open to the public, especially when they get called out for posting rather controversial memes and content.

Spring Break Recap

Posted in Spring Break by

We’re back to our regular routine of school and extracurriculars after a wonderful week off! I tried to keep a happy balance of relaxing and activities, and I think I was fairly successful as Isla is a little reluctant to go back to school today, lol.

Here’s a quick recap of what we got up to during the break!

Monday

The Chapters bookstore was hosting free crafting events all Spring Break, so the girls and I met up with some friends for some art time. They made keychains out of felt and had fun browsing the bookstore until meltdowns started happening because they couldn’t buy things. *eye roll* We got out of there and all came back up to our place for lunch and playtime before our friends had to leave.

Tuesday

We spent more of the morning indoors as I was trying to get a bunch of homework done. (NOT easy with two kids lurking about, but I managed.) It was extremely hard to resist the beautiful weather outside, so after lunch we took Sam for a walk to the playground.

Wednesday

The morning and afternoon were filled with more homework for moi (ugh), but we did have a lovely lunch with a family member at Lemongrass. If you’re looking for some seriously delicious phở on the South Shore, I highly recommend Lemongrass! I had the chicken phở and salad rolls, Isla had the gyoza, Norah had the spring rolls, and our uncle had the Wor Wonton soup. None of it disappointed!

Thursday

More homework for me (surprise surprise), but I managed to get it all done so my mom and I could take the girls to a movie in the afternoon! We went and saw Wonder Park, and while the kids loved it, I thought it was just okay. Definitely didn’t live up to what the trailer made it out to be, but I did find myself chuckling a couple of times.

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Friday

We didn’t get up to a whole lot, but since it was yet another beautiful day we took advantage and spent most of our time on the back deck just absorbing the sunlight! We did do a big shop at Costco in the morning, and then in the afternoon Kyle’s dad came in for the night. We also took the girls to the Bulk Barn for a treat as Isla had an awesome report card (insert humble brag here), so that was pretty exciting too!

That’s about all we really got up to, and I’m glad we were able to enjoy the sunshine because this week the forecast is calling for quite a few clouds and rain. I suppose I’ll take that over snow though! Like I said, this week we’re back to our regular routine and then this weekend I have a trail race on Sunday. I’m mentally preparing myself for a lot of mud, but fingers crossed it’s not too bad! Also, ticks … they give me the heebie jeebies and I’m really hoping one doesn’t decide to hitch a ride on me during the race.

 

 

What I’m Reading: We Were the Lucky Ones

Posted in Book Review, Books, What I'm Reading by

From the book jacket:

It is the spring of 1939 and three generations of the Kurc family are doing their best to live normal lives, even as the shadow of war grows closer. The talk around the family Seder table is of new babies and budding romance, not of the increasing hardships threatening Jews in their hometown of Radom, Poland. But soon the horrors overtaking Europe will become inescapable and the Kurcs will be flung to the far corners of the world, each desperately trying to navigate his or her own path to safety. 

As one sibling is forced into exile, another attempts to flee the continent, while others struggle to escape certain death, either by working grueling hours on empty stomachs in the factories of the ghetto or by hiding as gentiles in plain sight. Driven by an unwavering will to survive and by the fear that they may never see one another again, the Kurcs must rely on hope, ingenuity, and inner strength to persevere. 

An extraordinary, propulsive novel, We Were the Lucky Ones demonstrates how in the face of the twentieth century’s darkest moment, the human spirit can endure and even thrive.

My review:

Up until I read the author’s notes about the story, I was leaning hard towards giving We Were the Lucky Ones four stars. There was a LOT going on; between the number of characters, the numerous events, and variety of locations, it was hard to keep track at times.

That’s not to say that I didn’t admire the characters’ resilience during such a terrifying time in their lives. I found myself reading page after page just to find out what would happen to each of them. I don’t often find myself tearing up over books but there were definitely moments in this one that made me reach for the tissues, not out of sorrow but joy. I definitely wanted the world for the Kurcs but knowing the harrowing time I didn’t ever get my hopes up and always prepared my heart for the worst.

At times I found it all to be a little unbelievable, I mean, the title of the book kind of gives everything away, but then I read the author’s notes and my opinion was changed. It definitely deserved one more star, perhaps not for the writing but for the amazing journey Hunter took in collecting every bit and piece of information to put the story together. We Are the Lucky Ones is truly a family story worth passing down through every generation.

My rating: ★★★★★/5