Cafe Alice

Enjoyed my first dine-in
restaurant meal of 2021 up
in Markham at Cafe Alice yesterday.

Tried and thoroughly enjoyed a cold Purple Sweet Potato Cream Foam Latte

As well as completely finished off a plate of mini sausages, luncheon meat & two sunnyside eggs

Was COMPLETELY enamored with the wall art depicting the "Alice in Wonderland" tale!

In like a lion....out like a lamb!

Spring is on it's way...forecast March 20, 2021!!!

Awards circuit has begun again...even though I finally watched the Canadian Country Music Association Awards 2020 from back Sept 28, 2020 last night (free up pvr space, lol), I've hunkered down to watch the Golden Globes 2021 tonight as I'm trying to cut down on taking up non-existant taping space. I'm currently watching the E! Countdown to the Red Carpet for the fashion, something that's been taken to the another level this year. Although, it's all about 'out-of-the-box thinking' which is the ongoing trend for the time being.

Unfortunately, something I've been feeling that I've been having a hard-time juggling these days is the time factor. Granted, even though it's nothing I should really be complaining about these days but I've been so busy with work (where the hours fit so perfectly with my own timeframe) that I've recenly noted to my bestie that where I used to find time to email 'novels' to her with updates, I now have have not been able to maintain this. Due to the nature of my current job, I'm not able to literally waste time as I have to track every moment...
For me, this isn't an actual problem as I've always been OCD on planning what I do with my time but it's unnerving that it feels like 'big brother is watching'.

Therefore, my time management has been sharpened and my priorities have had to be constantly updated. Sleep has taken a hit as well. Luckily, my napping skills with earplugs and eye-mask strategies have really become handy.

Which leads to another downfall that even though I'm excited to see the outcome to this first ceremony in the awards circuit, I've had to make a list as to what to catch up and update watching on Netflix. I've only watched 7 episodes of season four (the season featuring Diana, Charles and Camilla) of The Crown (most nominated Golden Globe show). Yet, I've lined up to watch the new Ginny & Georgia (supposed Gilmore Girl-esque drama) as well as Firefly Lane, The Queen's Gambit, New Amsterdam, Grace and Frankie and Emily In Paris, to name a few.

This is all on top of my normal daily shows I also catch...something that I used to be able to multitask in my previous jobs.

Nope, STILL refuse to complain...:) This is where social media is helpful when used correctly!

Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett (D-U.S. Virgin Islands) on today's episode of 'The View'. #Inspiring #Goals

Family/Valentines/Galentines Day & Chinese New Year weekend 2021!!!

New Year's takeout dinner over at Ames & Trudeau's

Finally watched the two day 10th anniversary of iHeartRadio Music Festival (Sept 27-28, 2020).
Hosted by Ryan Seacrest
The lineup on Night 1 9.27.20
Alicia Keys - Love Looks Better; BTS - Dynamite; Thomas Rhett; Coldplay - Viva La Vida; Jon Bon Jovi - It's My Life; Bobby Bones; Thomas Rhett - T-Shirt; Charli & Dixie D'Amelio; BTS - Make It Right; Paris Hilton; Miley Cyrus - Nothing Breaks Like A Heart; Keith Urban; Thomas Rhett - Be A Light; Leah Lewis & Kennedy McMann from Nancy Drew; Coldplay - Adventure Of A Lifetime; Enrique Santos; Swae Lee - Unforgettable/Sunflower; Elvis Duran; Alicia Keys - So Done; Coldplay - Fix You; Thomas Rhett - Beer Can't Fix; Migos (TakeOff/Offset/Quavo) - Walk It Talk It/Pure Water; Swae Lee; BTS - Boy With Luv

The lineup on Night 2 9.28.20
Miley Cyrus - Midnight Sky; Keith Urban - Somewhere In My Car/ Blue Ain't Your Color; Donald Faison & Zachary Braff; Usher - OMG; Jon Bon Jovi & Jennifer Nettles - Do What You Can; Bobby Bones; Kane Brown - What Ifs; Miley Cyrus - Heart Of Glass; Keith Urban - Superman; Brec Bassinger/Amy Smart - Stargirl; Usher - U Got It Bad/ Burn; Becky G; Kane Brown with Swae Lee & Khalid - Be Like That; Kal Penn; Migos (TakeOff/Offset/Quavo) - Need It; Usher - You Make Me Wanna; Jon Bon Jovi - Limitless; Miley Cyrus - Who Owns My Heart; Kane Brown - Cool Again; Elvis Duran; Jon Bon Jovi - Livin' On A Prayer; Usher - Yeah
#iHeartOnCW
-

Oprah's 'Be The Love You Need' with James Corden on Saturday February 13, 2021 on WW's Your Life in Focus virtual event where the 'Late Late Show' host spoke about his decision to make an active attempt to lose weight.

Had a nice WhatsApp texting chat with Winnie yesterday where we both shared some exciting news! Change is in the air...We're both waiting on the warm weather to arrive so we can catch up in the outdoor park area again!!!

Also caught up on a call with a past George Brown College pal, Vic today. It was nice to touchbase since he lives up in Barrie and neither of us drive! It's interesting that this is the second pal who's contacted me recently to share some of their writings with me. I don't mind reading material but I find the topics out of my normal topical interests. Ah well, why not go out of my normal topical areas.

Puppy Bowl XVII Feb 7, 2021

Preceded the Super Bowl LV - Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Weeknd pulled off a safe and in-built stage type of halftime show!

#YOLO

Another after the fact post...I finally finished watching last year's The Masked Singer last night!

DISCLAIMER revealing names coming up...

Considering I knew who the winner was, the unmasking of the sun (Leann Rimes) was not a surprise. HOWEVER, I was pleasantly surprised to find out who the crocodile (Nick Carter, BSB) and mushroom (Aloe Blacc) were at the unmasking! Wow, fantastic!!!

Archewell Audio - Spotify

The photo was taken after a Boss Family Workout with Twitch and Allison (that included my New Year's wishes!

This post comes from back at the end of last year:
Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, presented a special collection of inspiration, reflection, and perspective from guests around the world, including: Stacey Abrams, Christina Adane, José Andrés, Brené Brown, Rachel Cargle, Deepak Chopra, James Corden, Matt Haig, Sir Elton John, Hussain Manawer, Naomi Osaka, Tyler Perry, and George the Poet (plus a surprise or two). Curated throughout the month of December, join them as they reflect on the year, speak openly about the power of compassion, and toast to a hopeful 2021.

Inauguration of America’s 46th President

Given by the National Youth Poet at yesterday's ceremony!

'When day comes we step out of the shade, aflame and unafraid.
The new dawn blooms as we free it.
For there is always light,
if only we're brave enough to see it.
If only we're brave enough to be it.'

On the left was where she spoke at the inauguration and on the right, she was as a guest on James Corden's Late Late Show later that evening!

Thanks Karen for the Xmas Indigo gift card to me!!!

This had resulted in finally receiving my order of Craig Ferguson's newest
book, Riding the Elephant (I love LUV this public figure!!! I was first
introduced to the Scottish-American television host
through the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson).

AS WELL AS HOT CHOCO MIX!!!! YAAAAASSSSSS!!!!!

In Remembrance (RIP Alex Trebek)

Wasn't a follower of Jeopardy but grew up knowing of Alex Trebek as the host of this intense game! I'd watched last week's final episodes as a kind of a homage that marked the end of an era to him.

How accurate & real is Glennon Doyle's quote (shared on today's episode of Kelly Clarkson's show) from 'Untamed'? An excellent example that was shared over a quickie phone update between us besties (S & C) during craycray times this arvo. How refreshing it was to catchup & share such positive news for the future! Fingers-crossed towards the upcoming year!!! *winkwink*

Visited the drive by Polar display by Pearson on Saturday with the family! Saw both Santa Claus AND Scooge Santa! #PolarDriveTO

On Sunday, spent four hours playing virtual games on google meetup with Louie, Karen, Patrick and Flo (with a short drop in from Eugene)!

My travellor's spirit is peaked in checking out the town of Santa Claus, Indiana after watching Lara Spencer from GMA on HGTV's Suprising Santa Claus, where her team renovated and redecorated two houses in the town.

Also spent the day binge-watching First Man - 2018 with Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Kyle Chandler, Ad Astra - 2019 with Brad Pitt and A League of Their Own - 1992 with Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Madonna. I haven't seen this movie since it first came out during the Blue Jays world series. What a nice refreshing reminder of how good it is!!! With the likes of Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Rosie O'Donnell, Madonna, Bill Pullman and other phenomenal actors! SUCH a FEEL-GOOD MOVIE!!!!

Merry Christmas 🎄

Happy Holidays and all the best for 2021, much virtual love!!!

Countdown towards Christmas...

My presents (thanks to Fayewood's delivery & my pickup from Winnie's...minor case in point, even though it was so nice to see them...very difficult to resist the innate social urge to hug...even just fist bumping is borderline considering...) are lined up and ready for Friday!!!

Had a quick chat with Ling in Oz this arvo (Wednesday morning for them) where she sent me several photos of the kids where one looked like they were all snapping their fingers...but apparently (when I brought it up) they were making they were making 'love hearts' similar to how they're done from Korean shows (that I DO NOT watch. Case in point...details...)

Decided (can also enter different synonym as my recordings are getting to the timeframe where it'll be deleted regardless of whether it's saved or not...I question this...hrm...) to watch The Tenors -- Fan Favorites with Victor, Clifton & Fraser where they sang classics and hits from the Great American Songbook such as 'Hallelujah', 'Bohemian Rhapsody', 'My Way', 'Sweet Caroline', 'Always on My Mind' to name a few!

This weekend included binge watching:

- Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom featuring Viola Davis & Chadwick Boseman

- PLAY ON (from Dec 15) that Celebrated the Power of Music to Make Change. Hosted by Kevin Bacon & Eve with performances from Bon Jovi - American Reckoning, Yola ft The HighWomen & Sheryl Crow - Hold On, Gary Clark Jr. - Feed the Babies, LL Cool J ft DJ Z-Trip - Illegal Search, Sheryl Crow - Beware of Darkness, Ziggy Marley & Andra Day - Justice/War/Get up, Stand up, Machine Gun Kelly - Forget Me Too/Bloody Valentine, Maren Morris - Better Than We Found It, Sara Bareilles, Jon Batiste, Emily King & Steve Jordan w/ Pedrito Martinez, Chris Bruce & Meshell Ndegeocello - People Get Ready

Appearances were also made by: Bruce Springsteen, Ringo Starr, John Legend, Noreen Springstead (Executive Director - WhyHunger) & Sherrilyn Ifill (President & Director - Counsel NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund) and Micheal Bloomberg.

- Also finished watching season 2 recordings of Songland. The composer in me LOVES this show as people come in with songs that a variety of artists sit around, brainstorm and creatively change towards a larger goal!
For example, the episode with Bebe Rexha, who originally (pre-pandemic) was looking for a song towards the 2020 Tokyo olympics (that’s now been pushed to July 23, 2021). I was especially ecstatic in seeing how the song, Miracle was put together through a collaboration of two original & different songs that Bebe had the foresight to see and combine together. Definitely brought me back to To my musical theory days of harmony and counterpoint…
I also relished the season finale episode where Usher was the recording artist considering the song he would record. It's so fascinating to get a glimpse into the background of making songs!

- Garth & Trisha Live! A Holiday Concert Event last night who's song request list included 'What I'm Thankful for', 'Little Drummer Boy', 'Silent Night', 'Santa Baby', 'Belleau Wood', 'Mary Had A Little Lamb', 'Ugly Christmas Sweater', 'Oh Holy Night', 'Frosty The Snowman', 'Wish You A Merry Christmas', 'Hard Candy Christmas', 'Feliz Navidad', 'Shallow' (from A Star is Born), 'Baby Jesus Is Born' and 'Same Auld Lang Syne'

- Also last evening's The 22nd Annual A Home for the Holidays hosted by Gayle King with performances from Josh Groban (Celebrate Me Home & Angels), Miranda Lambert (Bluebird), Andrea Bocelli (I believe), Leslie Odom Jr. (Heaven and Earth & Snow) and Meghan Trainor (It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas). It's a great way to motivate people in the push towards adoption!

- Tonight's Sketchy Times With Lilly Singh (I miss her 'A Little Late With Lilly Singh' show)

This week's Boss Family Workout schedule!!!

Soooooo extremely helpful to help curb my sweets intake...(a leftover Afternoon Tea treat from Ames) :)

The Prom & Nutcracker flashbacks

Really enjoyed watching 2020 film, The Prom which is filled with the most extraordinary famous actors (Meryl Streep, James Corden, Nicole Kidman, Kerry Washington, Keegan-Michael Key, Andrew Rannells - come on, I enjoy all of them in general!). To me, it was like opening an early christmas present!

Personally, I totally enjoyed this fun, feel-good movie that achieved it's goal of distracting me life in general. Even though I'm disappointed that people aren't able to put judgement aside to find offense in it, I choose to disregard and to take in the joy of my own prom flashbacks (that weren't as dramatic)!

Also watched Debbie Allen's (from Grey's Anatomy as Catherine Fox - she's the mouse in the image...😉) documentary 'Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker' that in a sense, rescue's Christmas 2020 with it's original and inspirational dance take on the traditional Nutcracker.

Guess what’s back? 😉

Something to look forward to!!! 🤗

The Original Santa Claus Parade #SANTACLAUSPARADETO

Normally, the parade occurs along University and Front St where I enjoy it viewing from the window while brunching at The Hot House Cafe. However, this year the parade took place at Canada's Wonderland virtually this evening.

The parade lineup included: Mother Goose, Polar Bear on ice, Phillipine Heritage Band, The Tooth Fairy, CTV holiday sleigh-in with DJ Tyrone and his daughter, Toronto All Stars Steel Orchestra, Molly Maid, BMO Bear, Power of Sport (MLSE), Snow Day (Canada Protection Plan), E.L. Crossley Secondary School Marching Band, The Dalton Owl (The Dalton School), TD Music (TD Bank Group), Winter Forest (McDonald's Canada), Hitmen Drumline, Mr. Peanut (Planters Peanuts), Imagination Starts Here (Indigo and Chapters), Holiday Treats (Metro Grocery), Penguin Pizza Party (Pizza Pizza), #FILLUPWITHLOVE (Dairy Farmers of Ontario), Go Bear (Go Transit), Automotive Partner: Volkswagen, All Christmas Music (98.1 CHFI)

Appearances from: Tyra Banks, Shay Mitchell, Paris Jackson, Lily Aldridge, Sting, Sam Smith, Bebe Rexha, Hannah Gadsby, Ruth B, Mayim Bialik, Iain Armitage, Giacomo Gianniotti, Matt Bomer, Shaggy, Joyeuses Fetes, Kelly Ripa & Ryan Seacrest, Jason Priestly & Cindy Sampson, Pentatonix, Johnny Orlando, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Brett Kissel, The Reklaws, James Barker, Scott Helman, Jullian Shea Spaeder, Kalen Allen, Tyler Shaw, Saweetie, Mrs. Claus, Jose Feliciano and last but not least...Mr. Claus himself!

Performances with Meghan Trainor - "Holidays", Ruth B - "Silent Night", Shaggy & Carys - "Catch Myself Some Rays", The Toronto Symphony Orchestra - Excerpt from "Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker", Ridley College Cadet Corps - "Marching Band #162", Kelly Clarkson & Brett Aldridge - "Under The Mistletoe", Malvern C.I., Malvern Band Toronto, Burlington Teen Tour Band and Dolly Parton - "Holly Jolly Christmas"