E is for E-waste

Do you have any old pieces of technology lying around at home? If you do bring it to the E-waste department near you.

What is E- waste some people ask? Well E-waste is types of technology that can be recycled. For example if you have a phone that still works at home but you don’t use it, you can take it into an E-waste department. They will fix the phone, order new parts if needed, erase the memory on the phone and then ship it back to the store so it can be reused again. If it doesn’t work, then they will recycle the phone for you. They will also recycle TV, computers, printers, printer cartridges and any other technology you have.

E-waste impacts the environment by releasing harmful toxins into the soil by sitting in the dump. Also the chemicals can affect the food in wildlife. According EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) more than 4.6 million tons of E-waste goes to landfills each year. There are several health issues which arise from E-waste and the toxins given off by technology. Studies say that computer monitors contain 6.3% lead. That can release into the atmosphere and the soil and surfaces can absorb the lead. When the lead enter the human body it can damage your brain and nerve system.

Life Lesson: Next time you need to throw out your computers think twice, and go to the E-waste department near you.

J is for Jayson

Jayson is my older brother, and I find him obnoxious. He likes to hurt my feelings and make fun of me when I don't do things right. On the other hand, oh who am I kidding, there is no other hand, sometimes he is just mean to me. I am joking, he can be nice when he gets enough sleep, and when he is in a good mood.

When Jayson is in bad mood I like to bother him, and make him even more upset. Also he can be really annoying. If I am in my room reading or something like, he will stand by the door because he can’t come in my room. Or when I am going to bed, he comes in my room to scare me. I seem to scream a lot because of my brother. On good days for him and bad days for me, he likes to just make fun of everything I say, and sometimes I just want to hit him.

The good days with Jayson are far better than the bad days. On the good days Jayson and I don’t fight at all. When I don’t get a question on my home work and my parents are busy, he helps me to understand the question. Also, when we are watching TV together we don’t fight about what we watch, we actually agree on what to watch. He also helps me improve at sports by practising with me and playing games with me. Those are the good days with Jayson.

Usually the good days outweigh the bad. All in all, Jayson is a pretty good brother. We just have a love hate relationship.

Life Lesson: Although you may not always get along with someone right now, in the future you may actually turn out to like them

I commented on Lyndsey's blog on Ice cream.

P is for Procrastination

Procrastination is when you leave something or put something off to the last minute. For example, it is Sunday night and I am doing this blog at the last minute.

Procrastinating is one of the most common things people do. At least 95 percent of people say they procrastinate occasionally.

Tell me:

Why do we procrastinate?

We procrastinate when something is difficult, time consuming, you feel that you lack the knowledge or skills required or you are afraid.

Is procrastination good or bad?

It is mostly bad because when you leave your work until the last minute, you have to rush and do it all in one night, and usually it means you are up late. Then you don’t get a good sleep, and you are tired for the next week. Also you can get in the habit if doing it, so you will always procrastinate.

Other people claim that they work better under pressure, so that is why they procrastinate. My brother lives by this motto.

Should you procrastinate?

No because you will get in the habit of doing it, and then you will be up late at night finishing your work. In the future you will take this habit to university, and when you don’t hand in a project on time in university they don’t care, they just give you a mark of zero. Courses move very quickly in university, and you will constantly be behind in every thing because you didn`t finish that one project.

As you can see procrastination is not a very good path to follow. As for me I tend to procrastinate, but it is not that I don’t want to get things done, it is that I don’t have time. My mom is always bugging me to use my time more wisely.

Life Lesson: Why do today what can be done tomorrow. NO ! NO! NO! It should be... Never put off until tomorrow what can be done today!

I commented on Blayne's blog

B is for Black Out

It was an ordinary night at the cottage; my family and I were watching a movie when the power went off. We thought it was just going to be for the night, but it was not, it was for three days! We had to cook all of our food on the BBQ. It tasted great! There was a lot of food to use up in the freezer before it thawed. We couldn’t open the fridge or freezer for a long time (just for a few seconds) because it would let the cold out and the food would go bad.

The pump from the well would not work so water needed to be brought up from the lake. It needed to be heated on the BBQ to wash all the dishes, and we had to hand dry them. My brother didn’t like it at all. Also we had to boil water on the BBQ to sterilize it, so we could brush our teeth. We had to wash our hair in the lake, but since it isn’t good for the water and fish, we only did it once.

The toilet could not be flushed, so when it got too full my dad had to go down to the lake and get a bucket of water and flush the toilet with it. Like my great aunt says “if it’s yellow let it mellow, if its brown flush it down.” At night it was really dark, but we lit lots of candles. We tried to watch a movie on my portable DVD player, but the battery died. The next night we were going to finish it on my mom’s laptop, but its battery died too. Instead we had to play cards by candlelight. It was fun!

On the last day we were out walking, and when we came back the power was back on. We could flush the toilet and have showers again, and cook our food on the stove. My brother was the person who was the most happy because we didn’t have to wash the dishes by hand.

I now know what it is like to live without power. It was a fun experience, but I wouldn’t want to live like that all the time.


Life Lesson: Never take all the things we have for granted. We are very fortunate to have unlimited resources to use.

N is for Niagra Falls

Niagara Falls: one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

This weekend I had a dance competition in Niagara Falls. It was a lot of fun because we stayed the whole weekend, but I only danced on Saturday. It was a fun weekend, but the suckish part was that I was sick with a cold. The whole weekend was still fun.

On Friday night we went to go watch my friends do their ballet dance. I was practicing with them and running every where to get their stuff. After that was over, I went home and tried to have a good night sleep because I had to wake up at 6:30 the next morning. The first dance I had was Jazz. We did ok but it wasn’t our best performance. The next dance we had was Hip Hop. I thought it was our best performance but apparently the judges didn’t. After Hip Hop we had Musical Theatre. It was our best performance yet and we got a score of 92.68. Even though one person in our group had a broken arm. Finally we had Tap, and it wasn’t very good either. It was our second lowest mark yet, and none of my group was very happy. We told ourselves we would try harder next time.

After all of the dancing was done we went back to the hotel got changed out of our costumes, and then went to have fun. We first went on the sky wheel, and it was such an amazing view of the falls. That wasn’t the funniest part though. It was really funny because my friend is afraid of heights and she was screaming the whole time saying, “DON’T MOVE!! DON’T MOVE!!!” It was hilarious. After the sky wheel we went to an arcade and my friend and I put our money together and we won 507 tickets. When we got our prizes we both picked the same things. We got a little turtle (it is so cute), a big blow-up hammer (so I can hit my brother), and a little ring with colourful hair on it.

I loved the weekend even though I was a bit sick. It was one of the best weekends we had this year!!

Life lesson: Enjoy life even if you’re not feeling your best because you might not be able to do those things again.

I commented on Lyndsey's blog this week

K is for Key West

During the March Break I went to Florida with my parents and my brother. We flew into West Palm Beach, and then drove to Key West. It was a long ride and I got really bored, except at the end when we crossed a seven mile bridge. When we got there we went for a walk around the downtown and did some shopping. The next day we went on a tour of the city and then we went on a snorkeling, kayaking and sailing trip. On our last day we went to the Aquarium in the morning, and in the afternoon my brother and dad went on a fishing trip, and my mom and I went to the spa.

On our snorkeling, kayaking and sailing trip we first went snorkeling, then kayaking and sailed back to the port where we started. When we were snorkeling we saw lots of cool sea creatures. We saw a nurse shark, a moon jelly fish, another type of jelly fish, spiny lobsters, sea sponges, baby grouper and many other fish. One of the jelly fish that we found didn’t have tentacles so it didn’t sting, and my brother and my dad held it. After the snorkeling trip we went kayaking. You could fit two people per kayak, so I went with my dad. When we were on the kayak trip we saw a bonnet head shark, blue heron, bald eagle, and white egret. On the sail back we watched a dolphin jump, and saw a stingray. All in all it was a fun snorkeling, kayaking and sailing trip.

The morning before the snorkeling trip we took a train ride and learned a lot about the history of Key West. My mom and dad thought it was very interesting, but I didn’t think it was as much fun as some other things we did. I did learn some things when I was on the trip 1) There is one point in Key West that is the southern most point in the USA. 2) You are closer to Cuba than you are to any Wal-Mart. 3) You have to be born in Key West to be able to be buried in the town cemetery. 4) All the sand is imported for the beaches. At the aquarium I got to hold a crab and starfish. We also got to see them feed the stingrays and turtles, and my brother and I got to feed the sharks. I also watched a bird eat out of a fish tank, it was really funny.

I really wasn’t keen to drive 5 hours in a car just to visit Key West. Once we were there I found out there were lots of interesting things like street performers, outdoor restaurants, unique people, and street vendors. It turned out to be a more fun trip than I thought it would be.

Life lesson: Don’t judge something before you try it or someplace before you go there, because it might turn out to be fun, and you will really enjoy it.

I commented on Kyle's blog.

M is for Mom

The most important person in my life is my mom.

Her favourite place to go is to our cottage, at Thunder Beach, and to Florida. The hobbies she likes best are decorating, shopping, and tap dancing. She likes animals (dogs the best, then cats), children, the piano, and her family. The thing that comes first in her life is her family. Some things that she would change in her life are to laugh more, and to have more time to relax and enjoy life. The goals she set were to work hard, be successful, and one day owns her family’s car dealership. I admire my mom because she is intelligent, loves her family, and is very brave.

In school, my mom was an active member of student council, and her best subjects were math and science. When she was in high school she was in the school band, and she went to England and Vancouver. She went to university and took business. After she finished university she worked very hard, became very successful, and took over my papa’s car dealership.

My mom is so loving to my family. For example, when I am sick my mom always gets up with me, no matter what time it is. Another memory is when I was 2 years old and I broke my clavicle(thanks dad), and she was so caring to me! She always takes me to my dance and piano classes. She puts what my brother and I want first , and does lots of things for us at school.


Also, my mom is very brave because last year when she was skiing she fell, and did something to her arm. Nobody knows what happened, but she was in a lot of pain for a long time. After a year, she tried skiing again. She is so brave and that’s why I love her.

My mom is the best person in the world because she does so much for me, and sometimes never gets a “thank you”. I love her very much because; she is always there for me, and she loves me very much.

Life Lesson: It is very important to put your family first, work hard for what you want and strive for your goals.