Monday Ewwws...

Today has been a really rough Monday, last night I did not get enough sleep due to my phone call with R (my own fault, I wouldn't hang up). Which means by the end of the day, I am ready to crash. I would have made it to the end of the day with no problems if people stayed AWAY from me. But of course not, life would be too easy for that to happen. At the last hour, a bunch of people were asking me to finish up a few things for them for the end of the day or tomorrow morning. AT THE LAST HOUR.... Aaaaahhhh!! Question: What happens when you need to make a copy or scan a document? Answer: You go to your handy dandy super powerful fax/printer/scanner machine by Xerox and it is suppose to make your life easier. Guess what? It's MONDAY. That's not going to happen. The stupid machine decided not to do any more work for the day. I could not scan, I could not photocopy. We turned off the machine three or four times and just one time, it was toying with us, allowing us to make a couple of photocopies! Ugh.... I want to go home. I want this day to END.

At 25 weeks...

... and counting! Only 15 more weeks to go! I cannot believe she's going to have a baby in 15 weeks!! Ooops, I mean 3 months....

Gung Hay Fat Choi!

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!

Today is the day you go to people's homes to wish them a properous new year. Traditionally, you are greeted and given 'lai see' and lots of yummy chinese desserts and fruits. I went to my mom's house and we didn't do the tradtional activities because it's just the two of us, well Auntie Ingrid came by later in the evening. This afternoon, I was suppose to head over to Chinatown with Jasmine to watch the parade and buy some goodies but the traffic was crazy. I circled Chinatown for 30 minutes, could not find a parking spot and got diverted every which way because Chinatown was closed to traffic. That being said, I gave up and let the traffic lead me to my Mom's house.

When I arrived at Mom's, we sat around and chatted for a bit. In the morning, it was somewhat raining, by early afternoon, the rain had stopped for a couple of hours. But by 3:00pm, the rain started coming down hard so hard that when you looked out the window, you couldn't see the street. I didn't really want to go out there but I needed to pick up my weekly shopping list. So Mom and I braved it out there with our rain gear (actually, I don't have any rain gear except for a raincoat and an umbrella but I am seriously thinking about investing into a pair of Burberry Rainboots, yes they NEED to be Burberry...) to Victoria Street to pick up my groceries at the Chinese Markets. We hit three different places before saying it was much too wet to continue. Rain is not so bad, it's the high winds that are a killer. The winds are so cold that they can go through your jacket and into your bones. After the shopping, we waited around for Auntie Ingrid to show up for dinner. Apparently, she was watching a program and would be at my Mom's shortly. We decided on Vietnamese for dinner, yummy! And perfect for this kind of weather. Beef broth soup with noodles, Lemongrass Grilled Porkchop and deep friend spring rolls. A perfect way to end the evening.....

PS new photo on our Family Photo Blog......

Sun Lien Fai Lock!

Wishing you a Propserous New Year!

Tonight, the family (Mom, Grandma, Brother, Me and Kay) went out to celebrate Chinese New Year. Apparently, families are suppose to have their big dinner on the eve of Chinese New Year or the day after New Year. We are not suppose to have a big dinner on the day of Chinese New Year. This year is the Year of the Dog which means it's Kay's year :) R said that the Dog and the Dragon are not good for each other, bringing bad luck or a bad year for the dragon, R is a dragon. So his father and R went to the Temple to bai sun. For dinner, we reserved a table at our 3rd choice chinese restaurant on Fraser Street called Koon Lock or something like that. Mom couldn't get a reservation at the other two restaurants because she made reservations way too late. Two days before Chinese New Year Eve. The restaurant we went to was TERRIBLE. The service, what service? The food was late, and all the dishes came in the wrong order. The Peking duck that we RESERVED came at so late that by the time we got to it, we were practically full. To make it even worse, they did a terrible job at trimming the duck which meant all the crispy pieces were drenched in fat gao! Kay had a tummy ache right after she ate a piece. Mom was quite upset but now we know (well we already knew this) the next time we are to reserve a table at our first choice restaurant at least a week and a half in advance. But before we headed out for dinner, Mom and I went to Richmond to pick up some Chinese almond cookies and sweet chinese desserts. The ones that come in a steamed container which you bring home and slice them thinly, dip the in egg batter and pan fry lightly until inside is soft. Yummy! We picked up a Coconut Sweet Cake. We also had to pick up some Lo Bak Gao for my Grandma because tomorrow she will be visiting friends to wish them a Gong Hay Fat Choy and to play Mahjong. Although, Mom can make some really awesome LBG, the reason Grandma wanted us to pick some up for her is because when Mom makes it, she does not place the LBG in nice little containers like the ones you can get the bakery. After the bakery, we headed over to Richmond for the specialty store that sells all Chinese products like spices, sauces, rice, dry noodles, cookies, sweets, dumplings etc. Mom picked up some almond cookies and a few other items while I decided to pick up some rice crackers and dried noodles. We also headed over the a very famous BBQ place. Mom and I had to wait in the line up for almost 20 minutes to get our BBQ pork but this place is well worth the wait. She picked up four large pieces which ended up costing her $30.00. We also wanted to pick up some duck or crispy pork but if you did not reserve these items, you were not going to be getting any today! Wow, it was crazy busy in there. See photos below for yummy BBQ items :)

After our trip to the BBQ store, we were getting a little bit hungry so we stopped off at No. 9 to have a snack before heading back to Mom's house. We needed to snack even though it was 6ish because our dinner reservations were at 8:30pm and even though we are suppose to sit down at 8:30pm, we probably won't be seeing any food items until 9pm. After our snack, we headed back to Mom's to prep the items we bought today. She also gathered the gifts she had for my little brother. Mom picked up a small rice cooker, some LBG and some food items for him because my brother is unemployed and lives on his own (bachelor). Mom has a huge heart and loves her son so much (even though daughters are more thoughtful than sons) that even at his age, him being 27 years old, my Mom feels the need to take care of him. That was our day! I hope R had a wonderful day with his family.

Again, wishing you a very propserous new year or Sun Lien Fai Lock!

Pedicure

Today after work, I booked an appointment at a nails & spa place on Robson Street. I had been given a gift certificate to this place for a pedicure and the certificate was going to expire next week. I figured today was a good day because tomorrow I was heading out to celebrate Chinese New Year with my family. After work, I am tired and I like to go straight home but tonight I had an appointment. I figured it would be a nice place and it would be quite relaxing getting my feet done. As I arrived at the spa, I heard a bunch of girls giggling and chatting away. O.M.G. this place was an open spa with tables and their foot spa (pedicure equipment) was against a wall in the open. No separate rooms with doors, no walls and def. no relaxation. The girls that worked in the spa were very chatty and spoke in their languages to each other while working on their customers. The girls had very poor english, they spoke english with a thick accent, and the girl that was working on my feet kept trying to convince me to get a manicure done. After 10 minutes of pushing me and bargaining the price down, we agreed on a manicure for $20.00 (I still found that a little expensive since I could do it at home for a fraction of this) but I thought well I hardly ever go to these spas and it would be nice to have it done for dinner. She asked me what colour I wanted my nails to be painted (it's included with the manicure) and I told her a light pink or nude would do. I had choose a bright red for my toenails because of Chinese New Year (Red is a lucky colour). While she was trimming and filing my nails, another girl with a thick ascent tried to get me to wax or thread my eyebrows. She told me it was $15.00 for the eyes and upper lip and I told her I could get it at another place for $7.00, she enticed me again with a lower price, saying she will do it for $10.00 and I thought about it and agreed because my eyebrows were due for a trim. The same girl (threading my eyebrows) tried to get me to book a facial for tonight! Tonight!!! I was like NO, I have no time and I would not give you $120.00 for a facial. For that price, I could get a really nice and relaxing spa experience at The Spa at The Century!! In the end, I did end up breaking down and letting the girls do my nails and my eyebrows. While the one girl was threading my eyebrows / upper lip, the girl giving me a manicure asked me if I wanted to do the white on my nails. I was like a french manicure? And she said yes. But she did not tell me it was going to cost me an extra $7.00!! Nail colour is suppose to be included but a french manicure is extra. SHE DID NOT TELL ME THAT. I WOULD HAVE SAID NO. As the girl was finishing off my manicure / pedicure, the girl threading my eyebrows kept telling me to do a facial because I really really needed it. I said no, I have no time, I said no tomorrow is NOT A GOOD DAY. I guess she couldn't convince me or she figured I didn't understand her so she asked another girl (who spoke better english) to speak to me about my skin. I was like W.T.F? I understood the other girl, I am SAYING NOOOOO!! Ugh.... not a good visit. When they finally finished with me, the pedicure/manicure was like an hour and forty minutes long! I did not think it would take that long or else I would have booked it for the weekend. Really, I didn't expect it to be longer than 40 minutes. As I went up to the counter to pay, the invoice came up like this: $20.00 for the manicure, $7.00 for the french manicure, $20.00 threading (apparently, I misunderstood, $10.00 per area) and my pedicure on the house due to my gift certificate. I only had $50.00 in cash on me because I didn't think this was going to cost me anything! The total came to just under $50.00 which meant I couldn't leave them a tip. The two girls were hounding around me and watched as I took the cash out of my wallet. One of the girls realized I could not leave them a tip so she suggested Debiting the invoice. I was like nooo, this is all the cash I have and that's it. I'm paying off my bill with the cash I have in my wallet. I wasn't even thinking about leaving them a tip because I figured I was overcharged for the services I came in for. I also realized they could take a tip out of the cash I paid my bill with. Throughout my visit, every service was bargained to a suitable price. The set price is not necessarily the correct price. I noticed they also did not use a computer or a book to log in my services and prices. I figured they will probably take the tip out of the cash I paid. I am NEVER GOING BACK THERE AGAIN.... just writing about it stresses me out!
PS. I realized when I left the girl cut my skin!! And I bleed! OMG, that was not a good manicure! And she wanted a tip? I think NOT.

Lunch @ Victoria Restaurant

Today for lunch, we went to Victoria Restaurant to celebrate pre - Chinese New Year. The food was fantastic and it was really nice to get out of the office for lunch. We had reserved three tables, the food was pre-ordered, and arrived about 10 minutes after we were all seated at our tables. This place was packed and the line up was out the door. Even as we finished and were leaving the restaurant, there was a huge crowd of people waiting for a table. The restaurant is pretty big and it was a full house! It was a fun lunch hour! :)

Harper's Governing will lead to Canada taking a few steps back...

Could Harper’s win cost voters their homes?
By charlie smith taken from Georgia Straight
Publish Date: 26-Jan-2006

On election night, some socially progressive voters probably heaved a sigh of relief that Conservative prime minister–designate Stephen Harper failed to win a majority government. Nationally, his party won fewer seats than the Liberals did in 2004. Without the support of other parties in Parliament, Harper won’t be able to drag Canada into a war, ban same-sex marriage, create a “made-in-Canada” alternative to the Kyoto Protocol, or cut off funding for embryonic-stem-cell research.

Harper’s socially conservative candidates fared particularly poorly in the Lower Mainland’s inner suburbs. Pastor and teacher Marc Dalton came third in Burnaby–New Westminster. In Richmond, former Focus on the Family president Darrel Reid lost a winnable riding against a relatively hapless Liberal incumbent, Raymond Chan. FOF’s former staffer and lawyer, Cindy Silver, missed out in North Vancouver, which should have been an easy victory for her party. And long-time incumbent Paul Forseth was defeated in New Westminster–Coquitlam after winning four previous elections.
The Conservatives also lost existing footholds in West Vancouver–Sunshine Coast–Sea to Sky Country and in Newton–North Delta. All things considered, it was the most dismal performance by the extreme right in this region since 1988, when the Reform Party of Canada ran on a platform supporting a ban on RCMP members wearing turbans. If this election is viewed as a plebiscite on social conservatism, the Christian right suffered a bloody nose. Harper’s Conservatives were trounced in Atlantic Canada, Quebec, and the North. The party was soundly defeated in Ontario, lost in B.C., and only managed to retain a majority of seats in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Even if Quebec were a separate country, the Conservatives would still have fewer than half the seats in the next Parliament. But that shouldn’t engender any complacency among those who feel that gays and lesbians should have equal rights to marry, or that people with diseases such as Parkinson’s should benefit from embryonic-stem-cell research. Once the Conservatives form a new minority government, Harper and some of his most right-wing allies, such as Calgary Southeast MP Jason Kenney and Okanagan-Coquihalla MP Stockwell Day, will have a phalanx of government bureaucrats and spin doctors at their disposal to buff up their images. Harper has already stated that he prefers “incrementalism” to achieve his objectives.

As cabinet ministers, socially conservative MPs can start wooing the public by passing bills to reduce corruption and to cut the goods and services tax. This could create the political conditions to propel the Conservatives to a majority in the next election.

It’s worth noting that during the recent campaign, Harper told the Globe and Mail that his fundamental views hadn’t changed over the past decade, though his positions on individual issues had “evolved”. To get a glimpse into Harper’s fundamental views, one only has to examine what he wrote in the Report, a right-wing Canadian magazine, in June 2003. He urged readers to “rediscover...social conservatism because a growing body of evidence points to the damage the welfare state is having on our most important institutions, particularly the family”.
In the same article, Harper decried the federal Liberals’ “children’s agenda”, claiming it hinted at more government interference in the family. He also noted that it would require “careful political judgment” to move in the opposite direction.

“For example, the social conservative issues we choose should not be denominational, but should unite social conservatives of different denominations and even different faiths,” Harper wrote. “It also helps when social conservative concerns overlap with those of people with a more libertarian orientation.
“Second, we must realize that real gains are inevitably incremental. This, in my experience, is harder for social conservatives than for economic conservatives.”

He added that social conservatives have trouble with incrementalism because of their “explicitly moral orientation”. But he warned that any other approach would fail.

This article was published shortly after Canada refused to join the U.S.–led coalition attack on Iraq. Harper clearly disapproved of the then–Chrétien government’s decision not to go along with the Bush administration’s decision to remove Saddam Hussein from power. Harper claimed that with the exception of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, modern liberals “are trapped in their framework of moral neutrality, moral relativism and moral equivalence”.
“Conservatives must take the moral stand, with our allies, in favour of the fundamental values of our society, including democracy, free enterprise and individual freedom,” Harper wrote. “This moral stand should not just give us the right to stand up with our allies, but the duty to do so and the responsibility to put ‘hard power’ behind our international commitments.”

In effect, Harper linked social conservatism to military policy. But he didn’t take that extra step in the article and examine the potential impact on fiscal policy and mortgage rates. Because Harper’s party now holds a minority of seats, he will have less freedom to advance his military-spending agenda. It calls for an additional $5.3 billion in spending and 13,000 more regular troops. As long as he is governing in a minority, it reduces the likelihood that Harper will repeat the fiscal insanity of the two Republican U.S. presidents, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, that he appears to admire so much. Both Reagan and Bush Jr. sharply cut taxes, particularly for the rich. Both of their administrations also went on military-spending binges. The combination of reduced revenues and higher military expenditures created whopping deficits. The Bush administration’s shortfall approaches a half-trillion dollars.

Harper has promised to increase military spending and cut taxes. He also plans to redo the fiscal framework to ensure more money goes to the provinces.

The Liberals claimed during the recent campaign that this would blow a huge hole in Ottawa’s finances. The Conservatives vehemently denied it. However, given the record of socially conservative U.S. Republican administrations, it’s easy to imagine that Harper’s approach could result in a large deficit. Whenever a government collects less than it spends, it competes with the private sector to borrow money. This puts upward pressure on Canadian interest rates.
Vancouver already has the highest housing prices in the country, with many people carrying large mortgages. This makes them especially sensitive to rising interest rates, which can occur when a government rings up a huge deficit.
During the 2004 federal election, Liberal candidate Kwangyul Peck, an economist, claimed that Harper’s flawed fiscal policy could cause some voters to lose their homes. Many suburban dwellers may not give a damn about embryonic-stem-cell research, notwithstanding its potential to save lives. They might not give a hoot about equal rights for gays and lesbians. But these voters surely care how much they’re paying to their banker each month to keep a roof over their heads. The pernicious economic effects of Harper’s social conservatism didn’t get much attention during the recent campaign, despite the dismal record of the Reagan and Bush Jr. administrations. However, if the opposition parties decide to make this an issue before the next election, it could ensure that the likes of Darrel Reid, Cindy Silver, and Marc Dalton will never be part of a majority government in the future.

New Walkman®

I have to say my new Walkman® is doing it's job, keeping me happy on the bus :) I do like the fact that it has a FM radio and I can preset up to 60 radio stations which is crazy because I only have 5 right now. But the fact that I can have up to 60 is cool. The downside of this new portable music player is the one line display and the setup of my music. Walkman®'s one line display is going to take a while to get used to. As I am used to seeing all my albums and music tracks on one very LARGE screen. But I have my MUSIC....

HSBC

This afternoon, I had an appointment to see my Dad's financial advisor about my mutal funds. I have been quite nervous about requesting a withdraw from my mutfuds. I know it's MY MONEY but the fin advisor is a really good friend of my Dad. When I told her how much I wanted, her jaw dropped and her eyes had this lost look. Oops, yes I know it seems like a lot but I promised her I would put the money back soon. Well not soon but I will eventually put the money back into that account. Because I don't have an account at HSBC (I closed it many years ago), I now have to wait a week before I can see the $$. She is going to issue me a draft because they can't deposit the $$ into my RBC account. Well, I'm glad this is over with. Now, I can pay off some of my debts and have a little bit of money in my account so I don't have to worry about overdrafting.

Conservatives In Power

O.M.G. Tories are in power, a minority government nevertheless but still holds some power on how they want to run our country. I am not too happy with the outcome of this election and will be watching the politics closely. Thankfully, Liberals still have 104 seats in Parliment.

Sony Walkman® Update

Today, I finally found out that my Walkman® is DEAD. The motherboard has been destroyed and cannot be fixed or replaced. It will cost $600 to replace the motherboard so they suggested I look into a new music player. OH. MY. GOD. I cannot believe it. But I knew when I dropped it that it was the end of it, I had a funny feeling. At lunch, I decided to check out a new mp3 player for myself because I can no longer live without music while in transit. I headed over to Future Shop to look at what FS had available and what was on SALE. I looked at a new model by Sony (by heart, I am a Sony Girl) which just came out in the market. This one is smaller than my Walkman® by size (size doesn't really matter, right?) and by memory (who needs memory? Really, who???) but R spoiled me in such a way (by purchasing a 20GB Walkman® as a first time music player owner) that any other mp3 player I look at with less than a 20GB harddrive is now crappy in my eyes. Although, my friend has stated that a 1GB is a pretty decent music player and for now, it will do it's job. I know this, yes, I do..... but really, I AM just SPOILED.

Ok, I will try to live with this one and maybe it won't be so bad. I will download my music, listen to the sound and see what this new one can do for me. I have to learn to deal with mourning.... yes, I am now in mourning for my dead Walkman® , RIP, you've brought me much happiness.....

Sunday Shopping

Today, Kay and I went shopping with my mom. Kay's plans got cancelled last minute so she ended up spending the day with us which meant she was not a happy camper. Life's like that, she needs to learn sometimes you can't always have your way. I have decided that we need to plan our meals in advance which means we plan our dinners for the week. This way, I can make up a shopping list for grocery shopping once a week. Also, by doing this, we should be able to cut out wasted time and not having to waste any spoiled vegetables or meats. The bonus, I ABSOLUTELY HATE planning dinners on the bus as I'm on my way home or the times when I finally get home and I am standing at the fridge trying to figure out what to make. From now on, all I have to do is look on the calendar and see what's for dinner! No thinking, no planning, just do it.

But before I headed over to my mom's, Kay and I went back to Broadway street to pick up a $20.00 rain resistant jacket for myself. Yesterday, Kay and I spent most of the afternoon shopping for her and her snowboarding gear. Luckily, we ended up with some pretty good deals. I was thinking this shopping trip was going to cost me more than $300.00. On Broadway street, there are many stores that specialize in outdoor gear, one of these stores is a distributor of outdoor gear made in China so the prices are really low. We found Kay a water resistant outdoor jacket for $20.00 (Boxing Day Prices) because the store is trying to get sell all of their old stock. We headed further down to a consignment store to pick up some snow pants and we got an awesome deal on a pair of practically BRAND NEW snowpants for $21.00. We could not find her any goggles or thermal wear so we ended up at Oakridge Centre (after her laundry duties) and the mall was having a HUGE sidewalk sale, SWEEEET! I picked up a pair of poly/spandex track pants for Kay and we have decided that she can wear a cotton t-shirt under her sweater and jacket. I also picked up a couple of sweaters at 60% off at one of my favorite stores in Oakridge. That was our Saturday afternoon :)

Heading over to my Mom's after I picked up a jacket from Broadway, Mom and I decided to head over to Superstore to pick up some groceries. I had a list of what I needed for the week and I stuck to it. Wow, I can't believe I only spent $40.00 at Superstore. We did pretty good. Mom thought it was hilarious that I was only picking up ONE tomato and ONE carrot but really that is all I needed and if I was to buy a whole pack, it would go to waste therefore we stuck to our list. I am quite surprised that we did not sneak in a few extra items. Normally, a shopping trip to Superstore can cost us over $150.00 and half the stuff is not even GROCERY ITEMS. We did good. Superstore did not carry every item on my list, for example, Basil and Lemongrass Stalk. I planned our week with Thai Recipes because my cook books are on order and currently in transit to my workplace. I guess I will see them sometime next week. The only cookbook I currently own is a Thai Cookbook. This means, we are having Thai Week for our meals. I love Thai but Kay is a picky eater, she won't eat anything spicy so I will be leaving out the Red chilies in the recipes. But we NEED Basil. I will pick some up from Choices after work tomorrow.

After our shopping, we headed back because Mom wanted to make Lo Bak Gao or Chinese New Year Turnip Cake. We loooooove Lo Bak Gao! We only get it once a year (usually during Chinese New Year) but I think Mom should make it more often, it's a lot of hard work and I guess that's why we only have it once a year. When I finally buy my food processor, I will have to bring it over to her place when she announces that time again for making LBG. It's a family thing, we girls have to help out Mom. After peeling, shredding, cooking and steaming, the LBG was finally ready! But we could not take it home because it had to be cooled before slicing into it. I will have to pick my share up tomorrow after dinner. Yummy! I can't wait. Mom made dinner for us which was great and I got to take some home for lunch tomorrow. After dinner, Kay and I headed home. It's been a long and tiring weekend..... I missed my foot soak on Friday but I think this coming Friday, I will treat myself and book a pedicure at a downtown spa! :)

Jasmine's Birthday

Tonight we celebrated Jasmine's 30th birthday! We decided on having appetizers at her new condo and dinner at West Restaurant and Bar (heard great reviews on this place, was not disappointed). This week is Dine Out Vancouver week and all the hottest restaurants in Vancouver features a dine out (a preview) of their menu at a reasonable price. We had a chance to sample the fine cuisine at the West on Granville at $35.00 a person! Normally, an entree would cost at least $40.00 a plate. It was delicious and so nice to be treated like a valued client :) We really enjoyed ourselves, the food, the environment, the wine, and the people. I enjoyed the dining experience so much that I think this is the place I want to go for our Valentine's dinner date (in April because R will be returning to Vancouver sometime then). The bathroom, wow, it was like being in a fancy hotel, they had the most beautiful orchid in the washroom and the liquid soap is imported from France (the fragrance was amazing!). I had to take a photo:

Our night began with appetizers at her beautiful new condo. The condo and the decor looks very different from her last place, it seems that her tastes have matured a little ;) A really nice place to entertain, her kitchen is awesome and the layout is really nice although the view from the living room is not that pleasing (Cobalt Hotel is the view). But it's definitely a really nice condo. The condo has painted concrete floors (which I looooove), granite/marble kitchen, stainless steel appliances, windows in the bedroom, just beautiful. I brought over some red wine, we sat on her new couch to catch up and enjoy the appetizers. Mike had the hockey game (Canucks Final 6-2) and the International Super Featherweight Title match between Morales and Pacquiao on TV, the fighting match was quite exciting and we were debating on our dinner reservations. No worries, we made it to dinner, reservations were at 9:30pm (we couldn't get anything earlier for 4 people) so we knew better to have appetizers or we would be starving and the entrees tend to be quite small and rich. Vince and Meryl were late in arriving because they picked up a beautiful chocolate cake for Jasmine. They both looked really nice and well put together, I have never seen Vince dressed up for dinner. He normally walks around in wrinkled shirts and casual pants, he can be quite nice looking when he doesn't dress like a bum ;) We decided to open her gift (from me) and make the first slice in her birthday cake before we left for dinner, Jasmine loved my gift! I did include a gift receipt just in case she wanted to exchange it for something else but she loves the gift. I'm so glad :)

For more birthday photos, please click HERE - Part I and HERE - Part II.

I decided to take photos of our dinners because I thought they were put together so nicely. I also wanted to post them for R because he missed out on a fantastic night. I am including photos of my dinner:

For more West Photos, please click HERE.

It was a wonderful night and was so nice to catch up with everyone. I'm so happy to see Jasmine so happy :) Much love to her and Mikey. And I must give a big huge thank-you to Mike for his hospitality and the invitation to their home on Super Bowl Sunday.

Dinner with my SocaButterFly

It's nice to see my dear friend Marie tonight. She is such a blast to be with and she is my sunshine when the dark clouds swing by :) She is so full of life and whenever I am hanging out with her, we cannot stop talking, laughing or having an awesome time. We are like two peas in a pod, like soulmates. Really. It's weird how when we are together, it's like we have known each other FOREVER. She has a huge heart and she has a wonderful persona. I love her, she is the best. We do not see each other very often as we both have very busy schedules but whenever we have the chance to hang out, we enjoy every minute of it. She is one awesome chick! And I thank her for introducing me to Soca and the Caribbean Culture, my little SocaButterFly......

Coach Store

Ok I went over to the Newly Renovated Coach Store on Burrad (very pretty), downtown, to pick out a gift for Jasmine's Birthday. She is a huge Coach Girl :) I have been eyeing this mini skinny for quite sometime. I decided to pick one out for myself and one for Jasmine. The one I bought for myself is the Coach Hamptons Signature Mini Skinny. I decided I wanted and needed it. Yes I have a wonderful reason WHY I needed it.





Look what the very nice sales girl at the Coach store did for me? She wrapped up Jasmine's gift in a nice little box with a red bow :) How nice! I think Jasmine will looooove her gift, what girl wouldn't?? I bought her a Coach Soho Mini Signature Mini Skinny. She has a few Coach purses, bags, clutch and I think she may also own a wallet or not. I have included a gift receipt if she wants to exchange it for something else ....

*NOTE: I would have posted this on Friday, the day I made the purchases but didn't want to risk the chance that Jasmine might visit my blog!*

RRSPs

I am feeling so grown up :) I have finally decided to start my RRSP fund. Why you ask? Because the company I am employed with offers an awesome RRSP benefit plan. For ever dollar you put into your RRSP account, they match your contribution by 60% + variable. Yes, 60%. The variable is dependent on previous year's earnings - changes in March each year. Last year's variable contribution is 60% that means the employer contribution was 120%!! YES, 120%!!! The catch? Tthey only match up to 5% (my contribution) of your annual salary and your employment with the company has to be a year before the employer contribution applies. Yes, I am officially (not today but this month) have been with the company for a year. Wow, I cannot believe it's already been a year. It feels like it's only been a few months. Time just flies by without you realizing it. I signed a form and handed it to Rae (she's the HR assistant) and the company will start taking money off every paycheque. A little chunk of my paycheque will disppear each paycheque and it may not seem like a whole lot, every penny counts..... Well I know this is worth it and if I am really short, I can always think about withdrawing my "savings" funds from HSBC (the one my dad put away for me)......

Update on Sony

I called the repair shop today because I could not wait any longer for them to call me on my repairs, I get this flaky receptionist who has no idea what is wrong with my Walkman®, she puts me on hold and then she finds the file, puts me on hold again. Finally, she tells me that my Walkman® is at the Sony Manufacturer and Technology Centre in Coquitlam. They are looking at it and will quote back with the problem and the cost. WTF? I could have sent it over there and I bet it would have been faster if I did it!! She is going to call me back when she finds out what is wrong with it. AAAAHHHHH... I cannot live without music!! I hate taking the public transit without my music to zone me out....

I am thinking if it costs too much to repair the Walkman®, I will have to look at purchasing a new one. I decided to check out the Sony site to see if my model was still available, maybe I could buy it at a cheaper price since this model is a couple of years old, BUT I could not find it on there!! WTF? Yessssireee, it's now obsolete, they have a new model which holds the Atrac3® files and MP3 files!! OH.MY.GAWD. I want it, it's so darn pretty!! I am so in love with the new Walkman® .... and now they have new LCD Screen technology called 4-tone organic EL Display, what is that you ask? CNN explains it here. Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.... but currently you can only order this Walkman® online with a credit card. I don't have a credit card :( Well, I guess I should wait and see what the damages are on the repairs....

Lunch with the Girls

Jen & RaeKarli & Me

This afternoon, I had lunch with the girls when I say "girls" I mean the ones that I work with. It has been too long since the last time we have had a get together. We have a really good thing, I didn't think I could ever have such a great bond with girls in a work environment but we are very close and we have a solid friendship. It's awesome. Jen, who went on a holiday to Asia and Australia, brought back some wonderful pictures and gifts for all of us. She is so thoughtful and so sweet, she bought a keepsake in each country she visited. I can't decide which one is my favorite, the little Koala Bear which is now sitting on my computer screen looking down at me or the Hong Kong Disney keychain. Awwww... now I really wish I was going to Mexico City so I could spoil them too! It's good to have her back though, we have missed her company! Lunch was a little bit rushed as I had Reception Duty (covering the reception's lunch) and I also had to pick up a pair of pants from Dynamite. Light brown pants with gold pinstripes. I think I have a shopping problem? :)

GIRLS, if you are reading this.... I LYVE YOU, GIRLIES!!

Mexico City

R & I have been talking about planning a small trip to Mexico City in April because we could both use some time together as a couple. But it doesn't look like it's going to happen. I am a little bit disappointed in the fact that I can't go but with my father being in HK and my mom not offering to watch Kay, I can't really leave her with anyone else. Maybe we will take a small trip to Victoria or Vancouver Island the next time he is in town.... We will see... Victoria is not as exciting as Mexico City and it doesn't really seem like a vacation spot, at least to me, but I guess leaving Vancouver for a few days is more of a holiday than not.....

My friend Erin

Wow, look at her pregnant belly! She is going to have this baby real soon, due in May! I can't believe how time flies... I remember like it was yesterday when she found out she was pregnant.... everyday, I touch her belly, it's very comforting and it feels like I should be getting pregnant! ;-) Don't worry, I am not ready to have another one yet!

Surprise Lunch

What a nice surprise! Chris called me out for lunch today, we were suppose to go tomorrow but she was available today! It was really nice to catch up. I saw her last week and her hair was short but still past her shoulders. Today, she had really short hair and I thought it must have been my imagination that her hair was long but nope, she chopped more hair off over the weekend! We are going to make plans for dinner one of these days and we will try to get together for lunches more often since she is right across the street from me. It was nice, like old times but not! She hasn't aged at all, still looks like the girl I met in highschool. And she accomplished so much, studying/working in Taiwan / Hong Kong, studying in TO, finishing Law. Well, she's always been a really smart girl with a good head on her shoulders, so I'm not surprised that she's done so much in ripe age of 25. Gosh, how time flies when you are having fun :)

Blah...

What did we do to deserve this? It's Raining Again in Vancouver..... ugh.... forecasted for the next 5 days.... SHOWERS... boy, what fun that sounds, I think I should wish the rain away and I recall Kami saying they need some rain, please please please send some over......

Oops!

Chinatown, TWO DAYS IN A ROW, yesterday while in Chinatown, Mom & I left something behind. A box of instant noodles, by the time we realized we had forgotten it, Chinatown was already closing down for the night. Stores normally close around 6.00pm and we got home around 5.30pm. Plus, I couldn't drive back out there, Kay had plans to be at C's around 6ish. Luckily, the store recognized us today and returned the instant noodles, Mom was quite happy. We also had to exchange the electric water pot as the one she bought yesterday, had scratches and dents inside the container. Mom didn't take a close look at it before picking it up. You have to look over such things because in a Chinese store, when you buy, you own, no refunds, and exchange only within 7 days. Luckily, these guys didn't want to mess with Mom so they allowed her to exchange the item without a fuss. After Chinatown, we headed over to T&T Supermarket, and Superstore to pick up more food, yes MORE FOOD, because Mom was going to have hotpot for dinner. Last year in Alaska, Mom picked up a little hot pot and she wanted to test it out. We picked up seafood, vegetables, tofu, and all the yummy stuff for hotpot. I looooove hotpot, was so excited! But you can't have hotpot with only 3 people especially with Grandma (she doesn't eat very much) so Mom invited Auntie Ingrid over for dinner. Ok, by the time, we washed and cut up all the items, we realized the hotpot was a very slow soup cooker. We started around 6.30ish and I had to leave around 8ish to pick up Kay. Not impressed, Mom now thinks she needs to get a new one. I think so too. She did get this hotpot for free so no loss there except that I had to wait soooo long for food..... but it was yummy when I got a chance to eat something! I think I will look into buying a hotpot too. I love hotpot and so healthy! No carbs, just meat, seafood and veggies in a soup base :)

PS One more day of sunshine, woohoo! I can't believe we got two days of sun!

Sunshine

After 26 days of rain, this is what I see outside my window :) How sweet it is..... I almost forgot what sunshine felt like ;)

Today, I went over to Broadway/Oak to drop off my walkman to the repair shop. Apparently, technicians were not working today (being Saturday) only customer drop offs / pick ups. The guy at the desk stated that I might not even have my walkman looked at on Monday as they are super busy. He told me to call in on Monday anyways and ask if anyone will be able to look at if for me. I am hoping the damage is no more than $60.00. Maybe it's just a loose connection?? I'll find out soon enough....

After we dropped off the walkman, Kay and I drove over to my mom's place. Mom wanted to head out for some food shopping in Chinatown, lucky us it was a good day for it, although I was prepared for the rain storms to show up. Weather in Vancouver is un-predictable. Kay moaned and groaned all the way to mom's. She's a good kid though, the minute we walked into my mom's, she stopped, smiled, kissed and thanked Grandma for all her gifts. It was an ordinary day, nothing too exciting happened except getting bitched out by two little old ladies. We walked and shopped around Chinatown for most of the afternoon. Mom wanted to pick up an electric dispensing pot because she did not end up buying one in Hong Kong as the electric voltage is different in Canada. We shopped around a few Chinese stores until she ended up finding a cheap one (less than $100 CAD), made in China, which I stated would not last long. Looking at it, it looks CHEAP and the inside is stainless steel, it's not even coated with the nonstick like my Zojirushi. I told her to pay the extra $100 for a Zojirushi, Made In Japan and it will outlast any cheap version. But Mom did not want to spend $170.00, she thinks the pot will have no problems and they are all built the same. Oh well, one day when the pot breaks down, I will just smile and think about my Zojirushi. Speaking of pots, I have decided that I want a Zojirushi Ricecooker! Oh my, does it look so cool and I know it's a little pricey for a rice cooker but this item would be used daily just like my hot water pot. Maybe for Valentine's Day ;) Anyways, back to our day, as we shopped around, our little cart (Mom has a little cart for groceries) was getting quite full and you can imagine Kay's face as we are walking all over Chinatown, not happy. But still a good sport, as she was going to be sleeping over at C's place. At the end of the afternoon of food shopping, we had one last stop to make, a corner market that has brown free range eggs at a really good price. Mom was planning to make Lo Bak Gao so she picked up about 7 pounds of Lo Bak (Chinese white carrot) and she left the eggs / lo bak on the little counter at the cashier (who said it was ok) and proceeded to the meat department to pick up some meat. I was standing by the cashier, watching Kay because we could not lift the little cart into the store, seemed to make sense that Kay would stand on the sidewalk as this was our last stop. The cashier started bitching in Cantonese about leaving our stuff on the counter, walking away without paying for our stuff etc. while I was standing there. She figured I didn't understand Cantonese (which I do) but I did not say anything back except in English. I asked her if she had a problem but clearly she did not understand me. I told my Mom after we left the store and she said I should have spoken up. We could have left the store without buying their items. The next store over carried the exact same products at the same price. Oh well, next time, I know what to say. While I was getting bitched out by the cashier, little Kay was getting bitched at by some little old lady on the street. Kay does not understand a word of Cantonese so she had no idea what the lady was saying but she knows the lady was saying things about her because she was looking at Kay while speaking. When the little old lady crossed the street, Kay threw her a nasty look. Sooooo funny, poor Kay, I told her "you should learn Cantonese than at least you would not be clueless and understood what she was saying!" I, on the other hand, can understand Cantonese but cannot speak it properly therefore losing out on witty remarks to stupid cashiers at Chinatown.

Didn't stay for dinner as Kay needed to be at C's around 6.00pm. I dropped her off and she was so ready to hang out with someone her own age.

What a day! Time to soak my feet in some bubbles! :)

Sony Network Walkman

Friday the 13th..... I got through most of the day without having anything bad or strange happenings.... spoke to soon. The minute I walked into my door this evening, I had a freak accident and dropped my Walkman! It hit the hardwood floor with a bang and when I picked it up, I saw the words on my screen disappear ever so slowly. I thought maybe it was fine. NO, I am sooooo wrong. My Walkman® no longer works. Aaaaahhhh!!!

I searched on Sony Canada for an Authorized Dealer for repairs and found one close to home, I will be heading over there tomorrow to see if they can find out what is wrong with my walkman.......

26th Day

... of Rain. Blah..... Thank goodness it's Friday. I am so ready to go home and soak my feet into some bath salts, sit on the couch and catch up on my pre-recorded shows for the week.....

The Dormitory Boys

Check out these guys when you want to have a couple of laughs (and you have the time to watch ALL the videos)! These guys are HILARIOUS, I thank Kami for posting a link on her blog and making me ROTFL. They now have their own English blog on blogger which also features a collection of their spoofs (videos). You can also find them here on their Chinese website. Enjoy!! :)

Friend from Highschool

A few days ago (Tuesday, I think) I was on lunch and running a couple of errands, as I was crossing the street (Georgia/Burrad) an old friend from highschool was crossing in the opposite direction. At first, I didn't notice her until she started hollering my name, I recognized the voice instantly. She has a very happy and bubbly voice, I could not mistake her from a mile away. She is soooo cute. We were crossing a very busy street downtown so when she wanted to stop in the middle of the crosswalk, I started yelling, "Hi Chris!!! I have your email, I'll email you and we'll get together!" A day later, I emailed her thinking oh, this is a really old email, I wonder if she will get it. Yip, she did. She told me she was back in town (permanently, she hoped) and was working on the same street as I. Only a block away! I called her up this evening and we caught up on life. The last time I saw her was at Metrotown around the Christmas season, 2003. She hasn't aged one bit, still cute as ever but a little more grown up. It's been so long.... we caught up on old times and I realized when I first met her, she was only 13!!! Almost the same age as my own daughter. Now that I think about it... I realized why her mother was so upset when she was hanging out with us afterschool! Gosh, I can't believe Kay will be hanging out with her friends at the mall afterschool! But Chris has always had a good head on her shoulders and she is one smart girl. She went to Taiwan right after highschool on her own to learn Mandarin and then right to university, she finished up in Toronto a year ago. All on her own. How things have changed so much in the last 10 years.....

And it's nice to know that when you see someone like that, you have the same instant connection and bond you had so many years ago. It's about the person and your friendship. Over the years, I have seen a few old highschool friends (like really good friends in highschool) but I feel that those people have stayed the same or have changed in a way that we no longer have the strong connection we once shared.

I will be having lunch with Chris on Tuesday, will be sure to bring my camera and take tons of pics :)

Snow Bunny

Kay's Elementary School is giving an awesome opportunity for the grade six/seven students. Every year the students get to skip Friday's Lessons to spend a day in the snow! Yip, you heard me. Every Friday they head over to Mount Seymour for some skiing or snowboarding lessons! Wow, when I was in elementary, I never received such a cool school trip! Well, it is a little expensive for myself (as my funds are limited) but it will be such an exciting field trip for Kay. She is not an outdoorsy type of girl and I think this trip will be very good for her. She's a techy aka PC girlie geek ;) type of girl. Christmas just passed and I'm still trying to catch up on the bills from the way over top gifts we spent on her. But how can I let this opportunity go? Kay and I spoke about this trip and she has agreed to this school trip as a birthday gift. I mean a $300 gift is quite extravagant for a 12 yo but I figured she is worth every cent. She's a good kid with a good head on her shoulders......

Wednesday Blues

I have the mid week blues..... I could not fall asleep last night even after the call I made to R. We spoke for about 40 minutes and I figured after speaking to him, I could fall asleep. Boy I was wrong. I think it's the rain. It's been raining 24 days straight in Vancity, thinking Vancity will beat a record.

As we enter our 24th straight day in a row with rain in Vancouver we will see only a few scattered showers on Wednesday. On Thursday, a warm front associated with another strong Pacific storm will sweep across the area bringing another soaking of rain starting during the afternoon and continuing until early on Friday morning. A few lingering showers will remain on Friday and Saturday. Rain is likely again late on Sunday and then possibly another big soaker again on Monday when we likely hit our 29th straight day of precipitation to break our old record set in 1953. The long range GFS model is now indicating that we would have to wait until at least the middle of next week for some of that winter-like weather that we have been predicting.

(quote taken from Vancouver Weather Page)

Gosh, it's no wonder people in the office are getting sick. Working downtown means you are close to the ocean and their high winds which can be quite strong, blowing through the office buildings. You walk out of the (crank heat to high) building and into the brrrreeeezzzing cold! Some bus drivers crank their heat up on the bus to Caribbean Hot and I for one, am bundled up in my wool coat, cashmere scarf and gloves (sometimes a hat) making me hit a hot spell while riding the bus home. Ugh... maybe I am coming down with something?

Online Photo Lab

Last night, I went online to develop a few pictures I took with my digital camera. At first, I thought the website would be difficult to use and uploading would take forever, some websites take FOREVER to load your pics. But it ended up being so easy and so quick. In their statement, it stated it could take up to 7 days but my pics were done in one! And the price? I could not believe how inexpensive it was. I normally pay $20 + dollars to develop my film but with the digital pics, I only delvelop what I want and it was only $0.25 a picture (4x6). Also, it was so convenient, just stroll into the store, show them my printed receipt, and pick up my photos (prepaid, no line ups!) Bonus, the quality of my pictures are awesome, they look like I took them with a film camera not a digital! I'm so impressed! This afternoon, as I went to pick up my photos, I realized that I still have 4 pictures in my film camera that needs to be used before I can send them off to be developed. This film holds pictures from my birthday luncheon in August! I think I will have to randomly shoot to use up the film so I can develop them. With the easiness of using a digital camera, how are the film cameras going to make it? I love this technology :)

CCRA

Wow, I have received my Canada Customs and Revenue Agency's label for my income taxes. It's only 10 days into the new year and this is about the only thing that the government is quick with. Because they want to take our hard earned dollars. Luckily, I have Kay so I will get a little bit of money back.... not much... and where the heck is my GST Rebate? They are 6 days late....

Newbie Blogger

My energetic tween figured out how to post on Blogger. Oh, great! Now, she will be posting all her rants online for the world to see....

She's only 11 3/4 yo but quite responsible and we have talked about chatting online and posting information online. She picks up on the techy stuff so quickly. Sometimes she drives me nuts! Like this evening, she was chatting on the phone while chatting on msn messenger with her friend on the phone. Apparently, they were testing her friend's new webcam. Not only do we fight for the bathroom and telephone, now I have to scream & fit to get my way with the computer! Ugh...

Speaking of computers, I am now looking at replacing my old PC. I have had this PC for 6 years with minor upgrades (ie. upgraded the RAM). My system is now what they called 'extinct'. I used to work in the industry so I emailed an old friend (and ex-coworker) about sending me a few quotes on an entry level media centre computer. What is that exactly? Click here for a description provided by
Microsoft. Wow, I didn't realize it was THAT FANCY. I don't need to watch TV on it and it's sounds a little expensive. At home, Kay & I use the PC a lot. We both have MP3 players, I just got a brand new digital camera and my father is bringing me back a credit card size videocam from HK. We will see how much it will cost before I decide to go that route but it seems everyone is upgrading their home PC's with the new technology available to home users. Cool....

Buddha Jade Necklace

Yesterday in my post, I forgot to mention that my Grandma brought back a little jade Buddha for me as I requested. A few months ago, we were in Chinatown and I have been looking for a little Buddha to carry with me. Like a lucky charm. In Vancouver, the jade pieces were either too expensive or it was not a beautiful piece of jade because for something this small, they do not want use a nice piece jade. My Grandma found me a piece that is quite green and just perfect for my little side pocket in my purse.

What a day.....

This morning, I was late picking up my mom & grandma from the airport because I didn't calculate the time it would take for me to go to my father's to borrow his Volvo. My little Beetle cannot hold 4 pieces of luggage esp. 4 LARGE pieces. My grandma looked really really tired and drained from the flight. As I lugged the suitcases into the car, my mom & grandma had to squish into the backseat of the car. As soon as we got back, my grandma didn't even look at her plants, whoosh, lucky me. I think she was just happy to be home. My mom said that grandma has been homesick for a couple of weeks and was looking forward to getting on the plane back to Vancouver. I think this is the last trip my grandma made to HK. She's getting much too old to fly. My grandma went straight to bed for a nap when we made it home. I helped my mom unpack and put all her new goodies away. Gosh, did she bring back A LOT of stuff! Kay and I got three bags full of goodies.

Kay's Stuff

• 4 pairs of jeans
• lots of funky socks and undies
• candy, candy and more candy
• 5 long sleeve shirts

Me

• Nestle 3 in 1 (the ones you can only get in Asia, soooo yummy!)
• Tempo Menthol Tissues (yes, it's a strange request but we can't get menthol tissue paper here)
• XO Sauce
• a cute mug with a lid
• cute pink girlie short sleeve sweater
• a sparkly with flower cut outs in the sleeves / front scoop neck black top
• a velvet brown tankie (but this does not fit me, it's too small)
• a cream faux fur hooded sweater
• black currant soft candy chewables
• a Coach Purse (from my grandma!)

Yes, that is a bag of Tempo Tissues and Nestle 3 in 1. Kay was kind enough to model my new Coach Purse. Gosh, aren't we are lucky? My mom and grandma brought back a few tailored coats and dress pants. Really nice, the next time I head over to Asia, I will be sure to see a tailor and custom a wool coat and pants. My mom went back for a long wool coat, it's beautiful and so light. Tailoring very nice and at a reasonable price. Including material and labour, about $100 CAD. My mom picked up a few items for my brother, a HUGO wallet, Disel Leather Belt, a Goose Down Beige Jacket and Daviddoff Cigarettes - Special Edition.

Next up, check the cars in the garage. My grandma's Toyota started up with no problem but my mom's Supra did not. Not even when we tried to jump start it. She will have to call BCAA tomorrow and get them to jump it. Hopefully, it's only the battery and not the alternator. Apparently, VC had a problem with his car yesterday. While he was driving down 99 or 91, the car stopped. Just stopped in the middle of the highway, boy was he pissed. Apparently, it was his alternator. Poor guy!

After helping my mom settle in, I had to leave because I still had to go back to Richmond to get my car. It must have been a very tiring day because when I started the car, put the gear in reverse, I forgot to step on the clutch. YES, I DID. What the hell was I doing? OMG. What an idiot I am. When I figure out what I did, I must have been so pissed at myself that I didn't notice the island as I was backing out and scraped the bottom of my car!!! OMG. I am so glad to be home.....

What did Kay do today? She went to H's birthday party today and she took pictures with her digital cam. Pretty good photos for a first time user. Wanna see more? Click her for Birthday Pics.

3 days since....

... R has left Vancouver. For the last two nights, Kay has been sleeping in my bed. Every time R leaves, she ends up sleeping in my bed for about a week. Last night, I was trying to get her into her own bed but I realized how sad she felt not having her father with us as I got her ready to sleep. Yes, I still put my child to bed every night. Being the softie, I am, she ended up in my bed for another night. I know exactly how she feels. It seems so quiet without R being around. It takes us a day or so to get used to having him around and then, bam!, two weeks later he's on a plane back to Taiwan. Hopefully, this is the last year of it. Or else with his first million, he better use it towards therapy for Kay and I.....

Today, we trekked through the rain (pouring rain) to my mom's place one last time before she got back. Just to make sure her plants and her bird were doing ok. OMG, I think a few of my grandma's plants are dying. Kay was so shocked to see one of the large ones with yellow dried out leaves, she said we should just throw out the dying plants and replace them with new ones. I think I would go bankrupt trying to replace all the dying plants! I decided to trim the dead leaves and flowers off some of them so they don't look so obviously bad and uncared for. We changed and vacuumed the bird area, and Kay went to the freezer to grab a few more packages of her fave. snack. Before my mom left for HK, there was a huge box in the freezer (about 20 or so packages), she now has 3 in the freezer.....

We decided to go to the Mini Dollar Store down the street because Kay had to pick up a birthday card for H's birthday. She bought him a Sponge Bob tin can filled with his fave candy (gosh, his mom will be thrilled). It took a lot of tissue and clear wrap to giftwrap his birthday present! I picked up a few items from the Dollar Store (a brush for Kay, a couple of forks and mini chopping board for work and a lighter). Then we headed back up to Choices and picked up some fruit, milk and Parmesan & garlic salami. Yummy! I decided to make pizza for dinner tonight because Kay is feeling a little down and pizza is her fave food! She has this annoying way of asking for it, she circles you and gets into your face saying "Pizza!! Pizza!! Pizza!! Pizza!!", I'm sure you know what I mean. The salami, yellow peppers, mushrooms, and mozza cheese pizza turned out really good! I added a tsp of oregano and basil to the pizza dough recipe and we also added olive oil and crushed garlic to the rolled out dough before we placed it in the oven. Mmmmmmm.....Yummy! Pizza! Pizza! Pizza! Pizza! turned out so awesome! Much better than the last time we made it. Sorry R!! Next time you are in town, we will make it for you!

I also picked up a pair of crops for myself. They fit so nicely and priced at a reasonable $25.00 plus taxes, compared to the Lululemon, I think these are way better! You could be paying up to $100 for Lulus.

Oops! You can see my fuzzy and very comfy flowered slippers! :) Ooooh... and my stretch marks!

Tomorrow, I'm back at the airport again. For the third time this week (Dad on Sunday - to HK, R on Thursday - to Taiwan). My mom/grandma should be coming in around noon. Kay is heading over to H's birthday party tomorrow afternoon. I gave her the other digital camera so she could take her own pictures. I really wanted to attend and take the pictures but I am not sure how long I will be with my mom and grandma. Gosh, I hope I make it back alive, I think my grandma will be pretty upset when she sees her prized flowers......

Erin's B'day celebrated early!

Erin and her birthday gift! Her faveourite colour being green and I lucked out finding such a pretty purse for my pretty & pregnant and very good friend Erin.

Erin's birthday is actually Friday, Jan. 6 but her girlfriends are coming out to take her for lunch on Friday at The Vancouver Art Gallery. We, the girls in our office floor, decided to take her out today to celebrate. We headed over to the Japanese restaurant across our building. It is our first girls lunch outing for the new year. Really nice to get together and catch up.....

New Hair Cut

R finally made an appointment to get his hair cut. Everytime he flies into Vancouver, he books an appointment with Ola at Jack's Hair (a salon for guys only) because he trusts no one else to do it for him. Gosh, is he ever picky! Before:

And After:

Wow, what a difference! He looks so handsome :) Aww.... now he is all ready to get back to work and bring home some $money$ GO GET'EM :)

He's leaving for Taiwan tomorrow morning, it will be hard for Kay but we'll have to deal with it. He will be paying for all her therapy bills.....

New Ruby Shoes

Oooohhh how pretty! These beautiful suede shoes were on SALE!! Marked down to $79.99 and with a 25% discount making them only $60.00! How could I resist? Yes I have a shoe problem..... I love them. I have been looking for a replacement for my red ankle boots which I wore out a few years back. Didn't find anything I liked until today! Although, these are not boots nor are they heeled (usually I purchase shoes or boots with a heel being at least a 2"), these are the exceptions. I wore them with my dark denim blue jeans and I look and feel great! I feel like Dorthy in the Wizard of Oz (Trivia: The ruby slippers were silver (like in the book) until MGM chief Louis B. Mayer realized that the Technicolor production would benefit from the slippers being colored) . Clicking my heels 3 times to go to the largest shopping mall in Canada! ;-)

Erin at 21 Weeks

Wow, look at her beautiful belly @ 21 weeks.... 15 or so more weeks to go....

Free Night!

Kay is away tonight on a sleepover! We have a free night to ourselves! We can eat whatever we want, go wherever we want, watch whatever movie we feel like, play with her DS whenever we want..... the list goes on :) We are thinking about heading out for Greek or Thai or Japanese tonight. I know it sounds a bit weird that we are excited about having the night to ourselves but it's rarely the case when R is in town. Normally, Kay will not make any plans while her dad is here because he's only here for two weeks every 4 months, yes that is right, every FOUR months. It's tough but that is the way it is right now....

She's sleeping over at C----- tonight and they are super close. She is the niece of one of my very good friends from highschool. Exactly the same age but C is so much taller and turning out to be a really beautiful and smart young lady.....

Bath & Body Works True Blue Foot Spa

Oooooooh... my feet are soooooo soft..... like Kay's skin.... I LOVE THIS STUFF.... I told R that he can't go back to The Body Shop after I soaked my feet in the Footloose & Fancy Fizz. It turns the water to a baby blue and fizzes in the warm water. The aroma of the salts fills the whole room. Really nice stuff. Worth every American penny spent!