BBQ in Richmond

Tonite, I went over to a co-worker’s house in Richmond for a BBQ. This is an annual BBQ that he throws for his department but this year, he expanded his invite out to the rest of the division. I have heard many great things about his renovated home so I was very excited to see his place. I have seen photos of all his renos but it’s def not the same as seeing it in person. WOW!! His house is BEAUTIFUL, he did some really great renos esp the master bedroom and bathroom. He built a fireplace for his master and his master bath looks like a spa!! Very talented and very good at what he does cos he reno'd his entire home on his own time during weekends and evenings. He even decorated his place by himself which is amazing for bachelor, I would have thought he hired an interior decorator! He is def a very handy person to know and he gives out advice for FREE! He even rebuilt his classic Porsche as a “project”. I arrived fashionably late and missed out seeing a few people that I wasn’t too keen on spending my sat with so was that luck?!? I did get to speak to many of the guys I work with in a more casual environment and that is very different from seeing them in the office. It was an interesting nite and we didn’t leave empty handed, lotsa leftovers and he had take away containers for people!

Best B'day Gift EVER!!!

Wow!! I'm going to Las Vegas!! After much debate and the last minute planning, I had decided not to go to Vegas even tho the deals were super cheap cos I really can't justify the budget this coming month for this trip. But Jas went ahead and booked my ticket as part of my birthday gift!! I couldn't believe it!! She's already bought my Lady Gaga ticket for my birthday!! WTF??!!?? She's a super awesome BFF, she knew how depressed I've been in the last few weeks and really insisted that we get away just cos I needed it and she needed it too. I'm super excited about this trip with the girls (it's T's first time so this will be really exciting for her!) and the get away just a few days without thinking about the issues at hand. It's only for 3 nights and 3 days but I think that is more than enough of Vegas I can handle esp in the upcoming month with the weather being super hot - yuck! Will be spending most of my time indoors since I'm allergic to the sun and SPF :( SO EXCITED, THANK YOU JAS, I HEART U....

Caribbean Festival & Robson Street

This afternoon, we took Tash to the Caribbean Festival cos she's never been to the festival or the Seabus!!! Wow, never been on the Seabus??!!?? Gawsh, she is 16 years old and has lived in Vancouver her entire life and has never been on the Seabus??!!??? As we walked over to the Seabus terminal, we noticed the line up started way at the back and I could not believe how long the line up was!! I've never seen such a long line up for the Seabus even during this festival!! Wow, I guess this event is getting bigger every year. When we finally arrived to the festival, it was packed and there were lots to see! But we headed over to the food section to pick up some grub but the line ups were huge and I was getting hungry so I decided to check out the stands that had the least amount of people in line which turned out to be not such a good idea cos the food was alright and I was paying a premium! After finding a spot in the shade to eat our lunch, we decided to head back over to the other side to check out the stands and get a nice icy drink. After Jas picked up a couple of different types of icy drinks, Kay and I opted for the freshly squeezed lemonade and Tash went with a real fruit icy smoothie, we decided to take a couple of photos by the water on the seawall to commemorate this day. :) Then we decided to head back downtown to Robson Street for a "walk" but really, Jas wanted to see what else she could find at Plenty. After much walking around and finding nothing, we decided to call it a day cos it was very hot and we were really tired from all the walking! It was an awesome day to end the weekend, with best buds!

Inception & Plenty

Today's weather was terribly hot and icky, I almost ended up staying home all day in my underwear but Jas sent me a text to see if I was up for dinner and a movie. I guess I could get into some clothes on and head out for some 'fresh' air :) Kay and I were lying on the couches when she arrived but we didn't leave right away. We decided to stay out of the sun so she and Kay caught up on life. After an hour or so, we decided to head over to Cactus Club for an icy drink, well I had a Bellini, mmmm.... great for a day like today. Since it was still early and we wanted to stay out of the sun, we decided to catch the 6.30 show for Inception. WOW, what an awesome movie! So awesome cos it's a mindfck and even tho Jas was a bit lost, I got every single detail cos my mine is pretty warped! Hahaha.... it's so awesome, I would pay to see it again! This is def a movie to see on the big screen but I'm def going to add it to my collection when it gets released on DVD. We purchased our tickets and had a bit of time before our movie started so we headed over to Plenty cos they were having their 50% off summer sale, gosh, we picked up some great stuff! I love the Plenty and their in-house labels, I got a pretty funky racer tank top with sparkles for $30 and a black slim skirt with pleats for $35. Perfect for summer and we still got a few weeks to go til this season ends! After our movie, we headed over to Thai House for dinner and Earls for dessert. It was still a very warm night but by 11pm, we decided to call it a night!

Fireworks!

Tonite, I meet up with Charly cos he wanted to head over to see the fireworks and Rosa wasn't able to make it. We met up after work and we headed over to Kits to find parking. He got a pretty good spot, close to Vanier Park (where we were going to watch the fireworks) and close to West 4th (where we were going to eat). We walked along West 4th and found a place called Mr. Shawarma which serves chicken shawarma! It was inexpensive and very filling! We both ordered a platter which had a ton of food, very yummy and we had a dessert but I can't remember what its called. After our dinner, we headed over to Vanier Park to set ourselves up on the grass and close to the street so we could exit quickly! It was nice to catch up with Charly and we had a fun time! He's a great friend and I know he will be here for me always.

Finished :)

Finally finished the colour on my tattoo! It was awesome to finally have it semi complete :) Mica was thinking about adding clouds to my piece but I didn’t think I could afford any more pain nor could my finances! I was already $300 over my budget and I would think the clouds would be at least another hour! In 2 hours, she coloured in my cherry blossoms and touched up a bit on my dragon. Hopefully, this time my tattoo will heal easier than the first time. Right now, my skin is getting dry and itchy but I think I’ll only use the ointment til this weekend before just applying a body lotion. Kay and Tash were suppose to keep me company but both girls didn’t get up til just before I left. By the time I finished and was back at the condo, they were still getting ready! Since the two of them were slightly hungry, we decided to head over to Crystal Mall for some si long bao :) Yummy and I picked up a fresh mango coconut tapioca drink from a little dessert place in the food fair, not as good as the one at the night market tho! It was a nice and relaxing Sunday before Kay and Tash ended up heading into Vancouver and Richmond.

Mexican Fiesta!

Tonite, Jas, Kay and I headed over to Charly's house for a Mexican themed dinner cos Rosa and him were cooking a festive meal for their friends. It was nice to see everyone and the meal was very good, the Mexican dinner was almost authentic altho it isn't the same without Ivan :( Susan was in town for a visit for a few days and it was so nice to see her and catch up with her. I haven't seen her in over 2 years cos she lives out in Trail, BC with her hubby (also Charly's BFF). Susan and I had a chance to catch up before other guests starting arriving. It was nice to meet some of Rosa's friends and it was good that there were a few people that had accepted Charly in her life. It was a really nice time and I ended up staying late cos there were some good conversations but Jas and Kay had to leave early for other plans. After it was getting dark, I decided it was def time for me to go cos I was getting tired. It was nice to have the condo to myself since Kay was out til late.

Aritzia, Urban Behaviour, Richmond Nightmarket ... oh my!

Wow, what a day! Yesterday, Kay and I went shopping after I dropped the car off at Bronco Glass to get the passenger window replaced. These guys are awesome, they make the claim for you with your insurance - GREAT! Less waiting time for me, plus a courtesy car and even tho the closing hour is 5pm, the owner of the shop told me he would wait for me until I arrived cos I wouldn't be able to make it til just after 5pm. Jas and I met up after work cos we were going to hit the Richmond nitemarket for the first time since it started. We were suppose to go with my friend, BQ a couple of weeks ago but due to my emergency, I had to cancel our plans :( After we picked up the car, we were trying to decide on where to eat for dinner, I wanted to have dessert at nitemarket not dinner :D Since we had to go over to Metrotown first cos yesterday, Kay had left her school books at Underground Clothing. She was so excited about buying her True Religions at the sale price that she didn't even realize she left the store without them! Once at UG, I showed her the 7 of all Mankind white super skinnies on sale in the store, Kay didn't like them on me yesterday said it made me look like I had sausage legs but Jas thought they looked really good! I didn't think they looked that bad either so I ended up buying them!! Half off and even cheaper than buying them in the states!! Since we were already at Metro, we decided to have dinner at The Boss cos we haven't been in there in ages!! After dinner, we stayed in the mall for the air conditioning and ended up in Aritzia cos Jas wanted to look at the sales again! I ended up buying a cute light blue lace tanky for only $24! I'm done with Aritzia, gawsh, I've picked up so many items from the sale! As we walked around the mall, we talked about what was going on in our lives and by the time we were done, it was time for the nitemarket. The first place we headed was to the food section cos there is always so many yummy things to eat! Jas picked up a icy drink and a deep fried cheesecake (Me - YUCK, Her - Oh not so bad!) and I ended up with a fresh mango tapioca coconut milk drink, mmmmmm so yummy! We walked around the entire nitemarket and gawsh I ended up with a lot of stuff which was unexpected cos for the past few years, I haven't been able to find anything useful at the market. I ended up with a huge Hello Kitty blanket (a very soft and comfy blanket), 8 pairs of tights (from Taiwan and Korea), and a Lotuswear short sleeve hoodie for only $20!! I think Lotuswear is closing their doors and all their items were marked 70% off, the hoodie was originally $50!! It was a great nite and an awesome way to end a long work week!

Promotion!

Wow! Kay makes me so proud :) She got a promotion today with a new title, Crew Trainer and a small pay increase! I'm super happy for her even though I can see her spending every single cent on her paycheque within hours of her receiving it in her account. Since summer has started, she has been working a lot more and working long and hard hours, in hopes to get a promotion or a pay increase. So Proud of my Bebe :)

WTF??!!??

Gawddamnit! My fckn car got broken into and all they stole were 2 mini bic lighters and my emergency bag which had a 12V air compressor to repair a flat tire, my first aid kit, bottle water and an emergency screw driver!! Now I need to replace those items and pay a deductible to fix my window! I don't have the time or do I need to add another expense that is uncalled for. Ugh, I am SO MAD! Stupid visitor's parking lot! This is the 2nd time my car has been broken into in this parking lot! There should be cameras or a gate for this covered lot, I'm sure it's either the addicts, the homeless or the stupid kids that broke into my car, it's really warm outside and this is the time of year when the cars get broken into! Just so many people hanging around the train station and the park. UGH. So Pissed.

Company BBQ

Wow! What a day! Gawsh, I'm super tired, it takes a lot of work to set up a company BBQ and thankfully, C helped us out this year with the prep work for the BBQ. This year, we had less people at the BBQ but it still took so much work and we still had so much food left over :( We arrived early to help Val with the setting up of the tables and supplies. C and Phil started putting together the chicken and beef skewers for the grill. Kay had a job this year and she was our photographer cos SB couldn't make it this year (she did the photos last year). But Kay didn't show up until 12.30pm!! When she did show up, she did a great job at capturing the moments at our BBQ. After a couple hours of BBQ, we did the raffle draw for the prizes (which we didn't have as many as last year) and once that was over, we started packing up as people were starting to trickle out. It was a fun (but tiring) day and all the kids had a great time plus it was nice to talk to my co-workers outside of the office. Everyone seemed relaxed and enjoyed themselves which made it all worth while. Too bad for the few people who were going to come couldn't make it but overall, I think it was another successful BBQ. But next year, we are def going to have look over the menu and adjust the amounts on the food items being served cos there was way too much again!

Prep work for BBQ

Wow! What a day, I'm soooo tired. It's been a long week and an even longer day. Yesterday, right after work, C and I went straight over to Costco and Superstore to pick up items for the BBQ. Gawsh, we had so much to do! We had to pick up the snacks, drinks, condiments, tomatoes, onions and fruit / veggie trays! But first, I had to move our stuff from mom's and from the storage unit back to the condo which took us about an hour, thank goodness for the 2nd set of hands, I don't know how I would have done it myself since Kay was working until 11pm! After the moving and shopping, we decided to head over to Nando's chicken for dinner cos I didn't defrost any meats or had any veggies in the fridge! Mmmmm, I forgot how yummy Nando's chicken is! I must consider eating there more often when I want to dine out, so yummy! After dinner, we headed back to condo to slice and chop the onions and tomatoes for the BBQ. Thankfully, C did most of the chopping cos I was trying to rearrange the condo back for Kay and I. After the prep work, C headed home and I decided it was time for a rest altho I realize halfway thru the rearranging that I left a few items at my mom's :( I decided to drive back over there to pick up the face wash cos I couldn't leave that behind! Plus I left my netbook over there, it was a nice stay at mom's cos we were "guests" and we got so many yummy dinners!

Asian Dragon with Cherry Blossoms Part 1

Wow, what a session! Mica (an amazing and super talented artist) sketched a freestyle dragon with cherry blossoms on my back and at first, I wasn't sure about the sketch but as soon as she inked the outline, I was in love! I didn't realize how long this session would be since she had only drawn the outline and in hours 2 - 3, she started adding details like scales and shadowing on the design. After 4 hours in 30C temperatures (but I'm pretty sure it was 35 or 40 outside!) and with my period arriving the very same afternoon, I could no longer lie there finishing off the piece! I was hoping to do it in one session but with so many details, I could not go on and my face was starting to look pale as most of my blood had been removed from my body! It was an amazing experience and with the pain, I manage to breathe and concentrate on the beautiful painting in the room. Yoga has def helped me with this since I manage to block out and sit through the strenuous pain I was feeling as she added the scales on the dragon! I am very happy and grateful to have Kay with me during this experience as forever bonded us and made us stronger as a unit. She even pushed her shift 2 hours ahead so she could stay with me until I finished the session cos she wanted to be here for me. Also, wanted to make sure I got home alright. I love her to pieces and without her, I don't know how I would survive. I'm really happy to finally get this done (it's been a 10 year process) and I can't wait until Mica adds the colour and finishes off the little details! So Exciting!

Super Excited!

Wow, Kay and I had a great day! We spent the afternoon together as she did not have any plans til tonite. First off, we headed over to my 12pm appointment at Monkey King on Kingsway to see Mica, a guest tattoo artist from Japan, - Detroit Diesel Tattoo Works) she's only here for 3 weeks to discuss my back tattoo and to look over her photos. Wow, she is super talented and does amazing work! I am so excited, I'm booked in for Wednesday at noon and I'm hoping to do it all in one sitting! It's possible to break it up to 2 sittings but I want it done all at once, I've been waiting 10 years to get this done! After our tatt appointment, we headed over to Coast Capital Insurance Services on Broadway / Cambie cos my auto insurance was due today!! Yikes, I'm cutting it pretty close! But I didn't want to wait til Monday to renew it cos I mite need to use my car tomorrow! As we sat down to speak to the insurance person, we realized that I only had basic cover and did not renew my liability insurance cos last year, I was suppose to go back to Coast Capital to renew it but I misunderstood and thought the other insurance company had done it for me! Apparently, the other insurance company could not sell me CC's insurance as they are not related to them therefore THIS ENTIRE YEAR, I've been driving around without liability!! How lucky am I that I did NOT cause any accidents! WOW! I am very shocked but not to worry, I made sure I had liability insurance before I left the building! Kay was getting very hungry cos she had not eaten before we left the house so we decided to try this japanese udon restaurant on Broadway. She said Tashna has eaten here before and it was pretty authentic and yummy. Wow, we ordered HOUSE MADE GYOZAS and they were SUPER GOOD, very light and full of flavours! The noodle soup came with a rice ball (japanese style fried rice wrapped with seaweed) and 3 pcs of gyozas! It was a lot of food but luckily I ordered a soba wheat soup noodle dish and it was much smaller than Kay's larger udon soup! Her soup base was pretty yummy and I think I will def have to try that one next time! Once lunch was finished, we decided we should walk off our lunch! Hahahaha.... we decided to check out the lulu store and Change cos I needed to get measured into the correct size bra. Wow, what great service and selection of bras! I've had so many women tell me to go to this store for my next bra plus there is a huge sale so I decided to get measured and to pick up some pretty (and to fit!) bras for myself. Wow, I couldn't believe how well these bras fit me and the very informative SAs were very helpful in explaining why the sizes in other stores did not fit as well as these ones did! I came out with 4 bras and a matching panty for only $110!! I'm set for a while now :) I've never had any "pretty" bras so it'll be nice to wear these under my tops and I know how pretty they are :) After bra shopping, I could tell Kay needed a nap cos she only had 4 hours sleep, chit chatting on the phone all night! We decided to head home so she could nap and mom and I headed out for some errands. After our errands, mom and grams cooked a lovely seafood meal with ling cod and geoduck from Alaska! So yummy! It's not bad staying over at my mom's :)

Sunday Food Feast

Wow, what a day we had! Kay and I met up with Ed (my cousin's hubby) for a day of JUST EATING OUT. OHMYGAWD, we had so much food!!! First, we started off at Crystal Mall food fair cos apparently, they had the best Siu Long Bao in all of Vancouver, this place called Wang's Shanghai Cuisine, makes all their dumplings fresh! Three women standing right up the front preparing the fresh dough and meat, it was pretty cool and OHMYGAWD super busy!! But we didn't just order the dumplings, he ordered a whole load of stuff from there!! Plus we had to try the Taiwanese beef noodles which happened to be right next door cos for the price, it was pretty decent for a food fair meal! After finishing off our "lunch", we headed off to Starbucks for a coffee and chit chat. Once we were done coffee and chit chatting, we decided to head over to Metro to see if he could get any gift ideas for his wife's birthday next month. He still had a few weeks to go but his father in law stole his gift idea which was the newly released iPad, my cousin is a huge apple junkie. We didn't see anything she would like at Metro so we decided to head downtown to Pacific Centre but Kay needed to go home first to change cos she was dressed like a bum and she didn't want to risk the chance of seeing anyone dressed like that. Once were in downtown, we went straight to the Apple store and those 2 were there for almost 45 minutes cos they were playing with the iPad. I figured Ed would have taken one home but he didn't want to ruin my cousin's b'day gift but he and Kay tried to convince me to buy one. Yes it's pretty neat but it was not cool enough to spend $500 on it! He is trying to convince me to cross over and to buy an Apple from his friend who is selling a barely used MacBook for $300. I responded politely NO THANK YOU as I am not a huge Apple fan and I have recently purchased an awesome kick@ss Toshiba notebook. Besides, I'm not a MacBook user, if I were to purchase an Apple, it would be the top model of the Mac line like the MacBook Air or MacPro. After 45 minutes, I managed to get them BOTH out of the store (with a bit of annoyed whining) cos I was about to lose my patience with them and once out of the store, we headed straight into Browns. A huge shoe sale to clear out the summer stock, the D&G pumps I've been eyeing were priced down to $199 from $695 but not in the fuchsia :( only in the black and I didn't want another pair of black shoes plus the heart cut outs were not as distinct in the black versus the fuchsia. Over to Holt Renfrew, to my surprise HR was having their end of season sale plus the 2nd mark down was today so many beautiful clothes in my size and at such a great price but the few pieces I did pick out did not fit me too well :( which means I didn't end up purchasing anything :( Over in their shoe selection, a pair of Jimmy Choos in this beautiful turquoise colour and in my size, marked down from $1295 to $495 but I could not justify spending THAT MUCH money on a pair of shoes! Even tho they were so beautiful and looked great on my feet! Also many pairs of beautiful Louboutins on sale again in my size but still at the sale price, not within my shoe budget or maximum price range for me to purchase unless of course I won the Lotto Max then I wouldn't think TWICE! Not surprising, I found my SWs and Coach shoes but even with the 2nd mark down, it was still more expensive than what I had paid for them on sale at Zappos and Coach store! Oh well, nothing for me again! :( After HR, Kay was getting a bit hungry so we headed outside and onto Robson street for a crepe cos Kay was craving for a sweet crepe. I didn't want a crepe cos I was still full from lunch but I could use a drink and since the sun finally came out, we decided to head over to Yaletown to check out the new Keg cos I haven't been. Ed was shocked that I had no idea about all the places that he talked about or haven't been to or heard of it cos I'm such a foodie :P The new Keg in Yaletown had a really cool rooftop patio so we decided it would be a nice place to chill for drinks and appetizers. Wow it's a very different scene from the downstairs restaurant and if I lived closer to Yaletown, I would probably come up here for drinks more often! After a couple glasses of wine and a couple of appy's, I was craving for dessert so he insisted on taking us to Kits for the best banana parfait in Vancouver! OMG, never ending day of eating and drinking! Fuel on West 4th revamped itself and became reFuel, Ed and his eating buddy used to come here all the time for the calamari but they had taken it off the menu so he didn't come in for a while but when we arrived, another disappointment! It seems, the Banana Parfait Ed was talking about was also not on the menu any longer! He was so disappointed and felt so bad that it wasn't available since he had convinced us it was the best dessert in Vancouver! The executive chef suggested the chocolate brownie on the dessert menu cos he guaranteed us that it was the BEST decadent chocolate brownie dessert I'd ever have so I gave it a try since I love chocolate! Gawsh was it ever decadent and delicious! Super rich but so very yummy!! Ed also had another beer and tried pork dried ribs with the executive chef's own homemade BBQ sauce. OMG, the BBQ sauce was amazing and we both agreed that he should def bottle that stuff cos it would fly off the shelves if he did!!!! I will def have to go back there again, yes that's how amazing the BBQ sauce is!!! We were sitting at the bar cos Ed like sitting there so he could chat with the executive chef, Ed found out that this coming Wednesday would be a pig feast which meant for $50 a person, they would have 2 roasted pigs for the eating and 2 kegs of beer for the drinking. Now I would have totally wanted to do this but starting this week (Monday in fact), I'm going on a very strict diet of chicken breast and vegetables cos I could not button a pair of pants last week!! I've had way too much good food and have not done enough cardio or swimming! I have been meaning to hit the Grouse Grind as well but I haven't really been motivated to since I've heard the GG has newly added a staircase up the trail. Also, it now costs $10 to catch the tram back down the mountain! WTF?!?!?!?! Oh well, I will try to do it once or twice with Charly this summer. He's been going to the GG at least once a week I think, good for him! After reFuel, it was getting late and I still had things to do at the condo so we asked Ed if we could call it a nite. The chef convinced him the BEST chicken wings were at Campagnolo Restaurant on Main street and he really wanted to go to try them out, one last stop, but I could not eat anymore and even tho I was stuffed, if we had gone to Campagnolo's, I would not have been able to stop myself from eating the wings!!! So I had to decline :( He was good about it and I'm sure he and his wife will go there sometime this week to try them out :) Gawsh it was such a fun and entertaining day but we were pretty tired and ready to pass out! Wish I could go to the pig feast :( Oh well next time! I def learned a lot about food and the restaurants in Vancouver from Ed. I think he really should blog about his eating adventures!

Diving Board

Even with all the drama going on in my life at this moment, I still made it to my last swimming class. I really needed it as well, it was a nice short break for me. I was a bit sad as this was my last class and hopefully, I'll be able to take Aqua Adult 2 in a couple of months but for now, I will practice my front and back crawl. Tonite, we practiced our front and back crawl in the shallow end and then we got to try on flippers, oh my that was super fun! Flippers magically turn you into a mermaid, you move so quickly and smoothly in the water and I was instantly comfortable in them. Altho some of the others were having a hard time using them, I really love them! I think I need to pick up a pair for myself! After swimming and practicing with the flippers, it was time to finish off the class in the deep end of the pool. We swam across, I did it very quickly while the others were having to do it on their back or with a flotation device. I did my front crawl all the way to the deep end and by half way thru, I was a bit shocked by the depth of the deep end but quickly regained myself to get to the end :) After everyone arrived, it was time to jump off the diving board! She did have a flotation device to assist but I went twice without it and it was such a RUSH! I am so excited, I can't wait to swim lengths across the pool!!! By the end of the class, she handed us a pamphlet on what we had learned and a guide to help us with our techniques. I asked her if I was ready for Aqua Adult 2 and she said yes but for the rest of the class not to worry about going back into Aqua Adult 1 since this class is 6 classes condensed into 1! I can't wait to do Aqua Adult 2 and I'm so proud of how quickly I accomplished this goal! I can't believe just a few weeks ago I was terrified to put my head into the water and now I can do the front and back crawl the right way!!!

Family Emergency

Oh dear, we got some bad news tonite and I will have to call into work to take the rest of the week off..... hopefully, we will get it all sorted out by this weekend......

Front Crawl

I officially learned the front crawl tonite! It was awesome, I'm so excited and I can't wait to actually go swimming in a pool!! Our instructor was not here today so we had a sub, she noticed how quickly I was swimming and taught me 2 new steps, well one is to prepare me for the "front" crawl :) I had an exercise where I bring my arm up from the water and brush my finger tips along the water, this is to let me know how it feels to have my elbows up in the air. After a few laps of this, she directed me to point my fingers and slant my arms like a curve as my hand hits the water to pull back, it feels like I'm scooping the water. No longer a straight arm crawl :) It was awesome, can't wait to use my new front crawl move in the pool!

Happy Father's Day!

Tonite, we took my father out for Korean BBQ, Jang Mo Jib in Richmond, originally my father wanted us to stay at his place so he could cook dinner cos he didn't want us to spend any money but it doesn't feel right that my father cook on this only day that he doesn't have to! We were going to do take out Japanese but I decided it would not be good to do take out cos Kay and I were planning on heading over there earlier to spend some time with him. I managed to book a last minute reservation for 7.30pm at JMJ Korean Restaurant on Alexandra Road. We have never been there before but Kay gave it good reviews and I noticed that this Korean chain is all over Vancouver! I did some googling and it seems that they have pretty authentic and yummy dishes but the lack of customer service has turned some customers off. Well it was def not the best CS and we were very disappointed that we did not get our side dishes or rice or drinks until after the first dish arrived to our table. We had only ordered 4 dishes, 2 bbq meats (one being top quality ribs with a $15 extra charge for AAA+), a Korean noodle dish and their version of gyozas. Luckily they forgot our gyoza order as we were very full from the other 3 dishes! It was a nice evening with our dad and he looks like his disease isn't progressing too quickly but he still isn't in the best health. Must make an effort to go out and visit him more often. Happy Father's Day!

Great Uncle Daniel's Funeral

This morning, I attended my Great Uncle Daniel's funeral at Ocean View with my mom and grandma. I'm really shocked and surprised he passed this week since we will be celebrating his 100th birthday this August. But the dinner party will still go on as the family has decided it will be a celebration of his life. The funeral was very touching esp when the eldest grandson gave his eulogy. After the service, followed a tea / coffee reception in the next room and I met up with so many family members that I haven't seen in many years plus I got to catch up with my cousin, Laurene and her new husband, Ed. It was really good to see all the family and how strong and close they all are. It was heartbreaking though to see my grandma cry and distraught over her brother's death. The siblings are very close and with so many of them, how could one not be heartbroken to see all the grandmas crying. I know it def runs on my grandma's side that they all live a very long life, my grandma just turned 91 this May and she is going to keep going for another 10 years I'm sure! Apparently, the secret of long life is to enjoy every minute of life and never think about your age or how old you are cos age is just a number. This man drank a beer with every meal and danced his entire life, he was a very happy, positive and generous man. He will be greatly missed but his spirit will continue you on as he watches over everyone in his family. R.I.P. Great Uncle Daniel.

Artizia, Megahair, IHOP

Today, I had a hair appointment at Megahair Salon at Metrotown with Kelly, I've seen her work and she seems pretty good at what she does but I was still a bit afraid to get my hair cut after the last time but it's been 4 months which means it's time for a haircut as it's getting unmanageable. Kelly did a great job at keeping the length and giving my hair more volume and shape by add multiple layers in my hair. My hair is pretty thick and heavy so it was weighing down on my face esp the length. I was comfortable around her and I enjoyed talking to her about my hair and other things, I think overall she did a really great job and altho I am not used to having my hair so thinned out, I think I'll keep going to her plus I can't believe how reasonably priced her fees are! At $40 a wash, cut and dry, that's very reasonable and I can def maintain my hair at that price :) After my cut, we headed over to IHOP cos Kay was craving it and the last time I told her I'd take her but I ended up having to run errands with my mom. Gawsh, it was yummy and very filling but so worth it cos we don't do it often :) After brunch, we headed over to Shoppers Drug Mart cos Kay wanted to buy a box of colour for her hair. We decided to head over to Metrotown and we headed back into Aritzia cos the last time we were in there, we really didn't get a good look at the entire store as I was really just looking for my 3 specific items. While we were in there, we bumped into Jas and she was in there to check out the new store plus take another look at the boyfriend blazer in the dark grey which she has been eyeing for some time. Kay found a couple of more items to purchase, she picked up a white collar button top and a white tank top to go with her navy blue shorts while I was convinced by both Jas and Kay to pick up a black tank top cos it's suppose to be the most comfortable tanky ever. After our purchases, we decided it was time to go home cos I was getting really tired from the little sleep I got that nite cos the boys woke me up this morning at 9.30 when they left our place. I needed to go home and take a nap cos I was soooo sleepy. After my nap, Kay was getting pretty upset with her Blackberry Curve as the trackpad kept freezing up so we headed back into the mall to the Fido store for a sales assistant to take a look at it and see if they could fix the issue. It looks like this is a common problem amongst the Curves and she said it was best to call the CS line to ask for a replacement. She mentioned that I should tell CS that I had brought the phone in to a Fido store and the SA recommends replacing it cos she's taken a look over it and it's def something wrong with the trackpad. Kay is addicted and glued to her berry so she'll be pretty upset when we have to return it for a new one. Oh well back to her Samsung if she wants to stay in touch with her friends! Once we were finished with Fido, we headed home to make dinner and clean the condo a bit. We need to clean this place up before HonHon's next visit and we are hoping to see him at the end of July or the beginning of August. Maybe he can be here for my birthday, that will be a real treat! He would have made both of our birthdays this year and he hasn't made it our birthdays since he left Vancouver but if he's here for my birthday, I can't expect him to pay for the entire LV handbag cos I sorta made that the deal that he would have to pay the entire bag if he left a week before my birthday! :( Oh well.... guess we'll see when his next visit will be!

A-team & Kay's 1st Summer Party

Tonite, Kay and Tash held their first summer "end of school year" party with 4 of their friends. Since I did not want to be around 6 teenagers all nite, I decided to head out for a movie with Jas. We wanted to catch SATC2 but missed the early show and the next show was way too late for us so we ended up having dessert at Joey's before catching A-team at a more reasonable time slot. A-team was ok, a lot of action and I could have rented this one instead of watching it in the theatre but I really enjoyed watching Bradley Cooper on the big screen :) I have such a crush on him oh my! When I arrived home, I expected the kids to be gone and done with but that was not the case. Apparently a light weight, Klye, had passed out on my living room floor cos he couldn't take his alcohol (they were drinking SOHO and Sourpuss which IMO is not really that strong!) and Jessie stayed behind cos those 2 were going to go home together. But by midnite, Kyle was still passed out so I decided it would be safest for them to just stay the nite. There was no way J could carry Kyle home even tho J was a big white dude. At first, they just left him on the floor to sleep it off but I mentioned that the weakest person to pass out first and on the floor should get their face drawn on. Oops me bad. Not only did they draw all over his face, they gave him nightmares as he was sleeping by whispering "the clowns are out to get you" in his ear and he started running in his sleep on the floor! It was kinda funny but eventually I told them to leave him alone cos he's in a subconscious state and they might really screw him up! Poor guy is terrified of clowns! It's been a long day at work and I'm pooped so I left them be in the living room to sleep, altho I'm pretty sure they won't get that much sleep tonite!

Farmer's Market & Aritzia

Wow what a great way to end a work day! Kay and I went over to Aritzia on Granville Street before hitting the Farmer's Market at Main Street. I had asked her to pick up the discount postcards that Aritzia sends for their summer sale and since we moved I forgotten to update our address so it has been sitting at my mom's place for almost a week! This year, I got a free towel - FINALLY! I've spent enough money in that store to get a free gift and to get the VIP discounts that start this week :) I didn't find anything at the Granville store so we headed off to the market and boy what a great market! There were so many veggies and I was super excited to head over to Fresh Off The Boat to pick up my spot prawns and sable fish :) I spent a $100 on fish / prawns! I also got a great big basket of local strawberries and a few different kinds of asian veggies which was surprising cos I didn't think I would find asian veggies at the market! After the market, we headed home to make a quick dinner and headed over to Metrotown's Aritzia to check out some of the items I was hoping to find so I could purchase them with my discount!! Wow, the newly renovated Aritzia is so huge and they had every item I wanted!! I found my Community sweater (mix of cashmere & silk), a very cute Community dress and I picked up another silk top by Central Park West in black cos I have one in purple and I love it! All 3 pieces for a total of $260! That's an awesome price since if I purchased all 3 without the discount, it would have costs me over $350! I also bought Kay her black TNA hoodie cos she's been eyeing mine for a while and I didn't want to share mine. After our purchases, we walked around and decided to head home but not without dessert :) We picked up a frozen yogurt each from Qoola :) Mmmm....frogurt! It was a great shopping day!! Now must stay away from Aritzia ......

Baby Kyle!

This afternoon, Jas and I went to a party held by Fran & Ryan to meet their little guy, Kyle. Wow, he looks like a white baby boy and I don't see any asian in him but I'm sure as he gets older, he'll have some asian features. It was good to catch up with Fran and I saw people that I haven't seen in years. Altho I don't really have much in common with these people esp when it comes to their babies and kids, it was still good to see everyone. Thankfully, I don't have to do these sorta things too often. It's really strange to see Fran as a mom since I've always known her to be so career oriented and not so interested in raising a family. She still plans on heading back to work real soon and they will be getting a live-in nanny when she goes back to work. I also saw Bryan and his new family which is cool since I can't believe how grown up we all became. I remember the days of partying in Seattle and now all these guys are married and having babies! I think it was hard for Jas to be surrounded by kids and babies since she's not interested in having any. I also felt a bit uncomfortable since I've already had one and mine is a teenager! With all the kids running around, I def did not feel the baby bug and I think I'm done with having any more babies! Mine is almost out of the house! After the gathering, we were suppose to head out for dinner with Fran and family but it looked like everyone was leaving and Jas and I decided to take off as well. I'm sure Fran will have an awesome time raising her little boy and hopefully, she'll be able to juggle baby and career!

Granville Island, DT Shopping, Swimming & Dinner!

Wow, what an awesome day!! Today was the first really warm and beautiful day in Vancouver so I headed over to Granville Island with Jas to pick up some fresh veggies and fruit. I missed the Trout Lake market as I didn't get up in time to make it out there. I forgotten how expensive the produce is at the market on Granville Island! I picked up a few items before we decided to head into downtown so I could look at the Louis Vuitton handbag that HonHon is going to buy for my birthday :) There were only 2 left in the LV boutique, I couldn't help myself, I had to charge it right there and then cos this one is not a displayed model and it was made in France!!! It's a nice casual over the body purse which is what I'm looking for and it will be good for traveling (once I start!) and it wasn't too expensive about $900 including taxes! Before purchasing the handbag, we had walked around downtown Robson street and went to Coach cos Jas got a Coach gift card for her birthday from her co-workers. She hadn't found anything in there and she was hoping she could find something this time but I ended up using her GC on a pair of cute Coach flats! What a great sale, 50% off and the total cost of the shoes? Only $70 and they didn't even look like Coach shoes. We decided after the shopping, it was time to call it a day and I still had to get home to meet Marlo cos she was going to help me with my front crawl. Once she arrived, we decided to swim first and then we would eat dinner since we'd burn off a lot of energy in the pool. Wow, she's an awesome tutor, she really helped me with my swimming and pointed out some things to me like relaxing my shoulder and blowing air out more evenly in the water. The next time we go swimming, we decided it would be very beneficial for Cece to come with us cos she could really help her out with her swimming. After our swimming, gosh were we surprised to be swimming for more than an hour, we decided it was time to head back upstairs for dinner. Dinner menu were sauteed fresh local veggies and steamed sable fish with a little bit of sea salt, black pepper and fresh lemon. Once we finished with dinner, we went off to rent a movie, Valentine's Day and pick up some bubble tea for dessert. We had a long night of chatting and she ended up staying the night since I didn't want her driving home at 3am!! When I woke up this morning, she had already left :( I was a bit saddened that we didn't get to say good bye but I knew she had to get back to her dog, Kanye and she had a date with Mr. D. It was an awesome night and I always have a great time with Marlo! She and I are so much alike it's crazy! She can even sense me when I'm thinking of her!!!

Aqua Riva

A birthday dinner with KD at the Aqua Riva, Jas and I shared the Seafood Trio, omg so delicious! It was a good time for Jas and KD to catch up since they hadn't seen each other in over a year. All in all, the meal was decent altho the dessert was gross! And expensive :( Oh well, next time, no dessert! It was a great way to end the long work week.....

Frontcrawl & Backcrawl

OHMYGAWSH! I finally managed the side float without a kick board! I'm so happy and proud of myself! At first, I was using it but trying not to grab it instead pushing the board away from me as I did the front crawl and barely touching it while on my side. I can't believe it, I'm so happy to finally not have to depend on the board. I think I will get a lot more practice on this move this coming Saturday. I was really happy with my improvement and the sub instructor noticed how advanced I was so she asked me to move from the shallow water over to the deeper end of the pool. What an improvement! I guess my arms are too long for the shallow end so I kept hitting my hands on the bottom of the pool which may have caused me to lose balance on my crawl. But after practicing in the deeper end, it really made the difference! We also learned a new item, the back crawl which is much harder than it sounds! Balancing on my back is one of my best skills but trying to move the arms back and forth in opposite directions is HARD! But I'm sure I will get this move in no time as long as I practice, I'm so excited!! I'm really learning to SWIM :)

Surprise!

My bebe is the bestest! She is so thoughtful and picked up this mini Hello Kitty for me cos she knew I would just love it! And cos she's a sweetie and loves her mama :) Now my tanned Hello Kitty has a friend! Hehehe

Dinner with Lil Sis :)

Tonite, T came by for dinner cos I haven't seen her in AGES!!! We had lots to catch up on so I suggested I'd make a nice healthy dinner and she can bring a healthy or non healthy dessert! She was going to bake but ended up picking up yummy brownies from Capers :) Dinner was baked wild salmon with fresh organic dill, local organic spinach quickly sauteed with organic garlic and brown basmati brown rice with organic cilantro. So delish! It was great catching up with T! We are going to try to do this more often :)

Summer Slingbacks!

My new Stuart Weitzman slingback pumps, Stiltsslings are here!! I'm so excited and wish the sunshine would show up so I can wear them!! They are perfect for summer and will work very well with my summer wardrobe! Also, due to my shoe addiction, I'm a VIP member which means I get free NEXT DAY AIR shipping!! Sweet!!

Deep End!

Tonite's swimming lesson ended with a BIG SPLASH in the deep end of the pool! We had a great class and we are starting to learn the front crawl which is very exciting! I am hoping to float on my side without the kick board altho I am having problems doing so right now. Also I am trying to blow the bubbles out of my mouth instead of my nose since I have to open my mouth when I do my side float to suck in fresh air before dunking my head back into the water. Right now I'm trying to get as much practice as I can, I realized in the previous class that I am tensing my shoulders and having too many things to think about as I'm doing the side float! Like blow, kick, arms moving forward, side turn, kick harder, BREATHE!!! Hahahaha, oh well it'll probably take me years of practice before I'm really comfortable and smooth but right now the goal is to manage the front crawl without sinking on my side! Before ending our class, the instructor made each one of us jump into the deep end as she wanted us to get comfortable with the idea of it. Of course, we all wore life jackets and there were a few of us that managed to jump in right away while others had to take their time and did not make quite a splash, another option to jumping in was to get in off the ledge. I was so excited in fact that I started to bounce up in down in my life jacket hoping to catch a glimpse of HOW DEEP the water was! My instructor was impressed that I was so excited to be in the deep end and let me tell you, it was super deep and a bit scary! But it's so much fun and I'm so glad that I decided to take swimming classes. I'm enjoying my classes and swimming so much more than hot yoga! Luckily, I have quite a couple of intense swimmer friends so if I ever feel lonely in my own pool, I can have a "swimming" gathering! :)

Purple!

Monthly visit with the orthodontist! Purple which really stands out!! Wow, her teeth are looking pretty good and I can't wait to see them when they are completely done. I am now thinking about taking on a part time job so I can get braces too!

Happy Birthday Val!

Today we celebrated Val's birthday at Coast Restaurant and it was yummy. I decided to try something different so I went with a mango California roll with real crab and 3 raw oysters. The roll wasn't as good as Irashai Grill on Alberni Street cos they have amazing sushi / rolls but not too bad for lunch and just enough to keep me full til dinner. Besides, I made red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing for Val's birthday but they didn't really turn out so I only brought a few to share esp one for the birthday girl. I hope she had a great birthday!

1st BBQ of the Summer

Late this afternoon, I met up with Rhoda to catch up since we haven't seen each other in 2 weeks. Wow, what a change, she cut 13" off her hair and I was shocked how short it looked. She looks really good though and so much younger! Once she got her nails done, she was getting a manicure and pedicure at Brentwood, we weren't quite hungry yet so we decided to head over to Metrotown Centre to walk around while we decide where to go eat. We wandered through the mall and chatted about what's been going on before deciding that we would eat something close by cos she may have to go out clubbing with some out of town friends who were in town for the weekend. Before heading over to the restaurant, she got a bbm from her god-brother inviting us over for a (very last minute) BBQ and wanted to know if she wanted to swing by for food. Luckily for us, we had not left for the restaurant so we decided to head over there, who would turn down a BBQ?? Altho he was holding the BBQ, he was holding it at someone else's house! Cathy & Benson (old friends from high school) just moved into their newly renovated house and Rhoda missed out on their housewarming party the week before so it was the perfect opportunity to see their new place. Also, we wanted to see how much baby Chase has grown, oh my has he grown so much since the last we saw him! He is soooo cute and so chubby, perfect for kissing and hugging! The BBQ started late as it was a last minute but once the grill was set up and food was cooked, it was a great evening on catching up and visiting old friends. The inside of the house is beautiful and you wouldn't be able to tell from the outside what it looked like on the inside. An amazing job and I can't wait to see what they do on the outside! It's too bad that their neighbors don't take good care of their side (it's a duplex) cos it would be nice if they could repaint the entire house. Also, the next thing to be renovated is their patio, it's a bit old and feels unstable like it's going to fall down, luckily we didn't fall through! Altho he said as long as we didn't put too much weight, it should be ok :) Good times!

MAC Cosmetics

On my lunch hour, I went over to MAC Cosmetics to pick up a couple of gel liners (fluidline) in blacktrack (solid flat black) and dipdown (deep dark flat brown) and a new eyeshadow brush, #214 a short, rounded, double-chiselled brush with soft, natural bristles which can be used with shadow to line and smudge around the lash line and very effective for densely shading lids. I am so excited to try this new brush and I'm really excited to go back to the fluidline, I'm not liking the eye pencils for daily use as it's not as precise as using the fluidline! I heart shopping for makeup :)

Main Street Farmer's Market

YEAH!! The first Main Street market started TODAY! Kay came by my work and we headed to the market together, this is something we do every Wednesday when the summer markets start. It's kinda tradition now and I really enjoy having her shop with me picking out our fruits and veggies plus getting to spend quality time together. I was super happy to see all the fresh local veggies and fruits but slightly disappointed with no berries since we haven't been having the best berry season so there were none :( But I did see familiar faces and fave stands like Kay @ The Other Eden (best handmade soaps ever!), Honey Stand with handmade honey chap stick (for Kay) and Fresh Off The Boat (best freshest frozen fish ever!). I think I spent half of our grocery budget on FISH! But so worth it and I plan on ordering 2 lbs of spot prawns (only in season for 2 months) to be picked up on her next Wednesday market. I am very excited to try those and I know they are going to be so delicious cos Spot Prawns are amazing, I was lucky enough to try some last summer at Hamilton Street Grill. It's also tradition for Kay to pick up a apple cider from the market stand and a sweet item before heading out. There was a new baked goods stand that were selling 2 kinds of yummy cinnamon buns, one with cranberries and one with nuts. Of course Kay picked the one with cranberries. It was an awesome first farmer's market!

EPiC Vancouver

Today, I met up with my cousin and aunt at the EPiC exhibition being held in the Convention Centre, I usually spend the day (Sunday) with my mom so I asked if she wanted to come along and figured it would be nice for her to catch up with my aunt. Also, this way I won't feel so guilty about not spending the entire day with her if I went without her. Wow, EPiC was not what I thought (altho I have never been so I wasn't even sure what to expect) and I ended up buying a lot of great items, spending $200 or more which is surprising because I didn't think I would end up with much at all. I bought way more items from here than EAT and I usually pick up a lot of great stuff at EAT. I wasn't expecting to spend more than an hour there but ended up wandering and stopping at many stands for over 2 hours! I will def make this exhibition every year and I really enjoyed learning and picking up new products. I was very excited to find Hardbites at this exhibition cos I was disappointed there were not at EAT yesterday. With so many great products, I'm just going to list them in bullet form:

• Amazing all natural BBQ sauce, Rufus Teague
• 100% organic and fair trade cotton face towels, fibrEthik
  
• Soup mix, Glenlochar Kitchens from Victoria
• Citrus Hand Sanitizer, Natureclean
• Organic green tea powder and a bamboo whisk for mixing the tea, DOMATCHA
• The most amazing and smoothest coffee I've ever had and couldn't believe these coffee beans are from Thailand! Doi Chaang
• Pure wild blueberry juice and wine grapes but non-alcoholic, a super juice and 100% natural without sugar, PureBlue
  
• Local Savings for Sustainable Living, GreenZebra - coupon book at half price
  

Also I picked up a lot of brochures and information on some great eco-friendly and / or sustainable products which I either ran out of cash (many stands did not take credit cards) or did not have the item to buy at the exhibition. Edible products like Winds of Change (imported by International Cellars) - BC's first fair trade wine and 100% organic and Denman Island Chocolate - organic dark chocolate. There was even a wedding section that featured local or recycled or sustainable items for your wedding, one designer named Caroline Calvert Couture caught my eye, she has options and started offering eco-friendly fabric choices! I also found some lovely home items like in Bed organics - offers great natural latex rubber pillows and organic wool comforters which are locally produced and 100% natural - I plan on purchasing one of these pillows in the near future; Living Wood Design - beautiful, practical and eco-friendly oak or pine furniture; Living Edge Design - amazingly beautiful reclaimed or refined furniture altho a bit more expensive, I would love to one day own a few pieces from their collection; Essentia - natural memory foam mattresses, petroleum-free foam with many unique benefits, I didn't get any prices on these mattresses but I'm sure it's worth every single dollar as it's biodegradable and 100% natural latex. One item that caught my eye as well is the Bokashicycle, a non smelly indoor compost, very cool.