Remember the old days of air travel when a deck of cards and a few postcards were all that was needed for in-flight entertainment? Travel has changed. Somewhere between forcing passengers to surrender our tweezers and restrict ginormous amounts of liquid in carry-on bags our personal freedom has decreased. Not to worry, though, because our level of freedom with entertainment has actually grown exponentially. We have so many technological-based was to be entertained, counting them can be hard. I get it. I’m totally guilty, which is why I’ve come up with some tech-free airplane activities. For kicks.
I’m a happily married woman so I will save you the suspense, I’m not tempted to cheat. Not in a traditional sense anyways. When it comes to my Netflix though, it can be really hard not to. You see, my husband travels a lot and during the day I’m usually busy blogging, raising my boys and doing all the things I love that make life magical. After everyone else goes to bed, however, Netflix beckons.
This is not a story about my political views. This concerns the way we push celebrities up onto pedestals, then knock them down when they reveal themselves to be human. This is the story of how we follow ‘stars’ on social media, in the various tabloids, and gobble up all their various products, but expect these same people to keep their mouths shut and look pretty. Because they obviously exist solely for the benefit of our entertainment whims.
No, this is not about politics. This is a rant that has been building for weeks, months, maybe even years. Decades.
My son desperately wants to be a marine biologist. He’s 10. And recently he was awarded his PADI open water diver certificate. The other cool bit about our son is that he loves to do things with the whole family. The Deep on Netflix has been a godsend – both for him and me as a parent.
I came across the idea for making crayon drawings into iron-on crayon transfer designs several years ago. But it wasn’t until I was looking for some way (other than the promise of cupcakes) to get my young children excited about attending their older cousin’s baby shower that I realized how beautifully this quick craft might transform into a handmade gift.
It’s important to be able to get your geek on sometimes, and those of us who have loved ones in the mode – only a few gifts are special enough to suffice!
We don’t even need a gift to want to board a plane. But, well, ok. People who travel tend to know themselves and their world very well, so finding the perfect gift can be a challenge. I tend to favour minimalist packing, stylish plane attire, and good luggage. There are a few other traveler gifts on the list too…
Cultures collide and legend is brought to life in Mulan the Musical. Lucky for Vancouverites, the show will be showcased for one day only on Saturday, October 15, 2016 in an exclusive matinee and evening performance at Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre. The iconic, ancient tale dates back over 1,600 years and tells the story of brave Mulan through a spectacular combination of Chinese drum music, traditional kung fu and dance. And we have a chance for you to win Vancouver Mulan Tickets!
My daughter just started preschool and all I can think about is how fast time flies. As parents, I guess we don’t really see the time passing us by until the day we watch our babies walk…out the door for their first day of university.
“Wait..what do you mean you don’t need your blankie anymore?!”
But enough projecting, sometimes it’s all we can do to keep up with their learning pace, so when my three and a half year old started correcting me in our dialogue, I realized that it might be time to get her into preschool.
So much has changed in the school system since my time, and (as a writer and a self-proclaimed anglophile/English history fanatic) I was really sad to hear about the phasing out of cursive writing in schools. Handwriting is an art, perhaps, but it also serves a very basic and necessary function: communication. Once cursive is gone, it won’t be long before the almighty type will begin to chip away at all the options for putting pen to paper. But I will be here to set the example for my child—when she’s ready, she’ll learn it from me.