Day in Victoria, BC

Today, mom, sis, and I woke up really early to head over to Victoria for the day! We had booked a day tour with a local chinese travel agency and our bus left Richmond at 7.45am. It seems so wrong to wake up so early on a day off but I had taken the day off to spend it with my sis and mom. This is the first time I've ever been on a ferry and on the island so I was a bit excited altho a bit worried about being on the ferry. The ferry is huge and was not what I expected but I didn't realize we'd be on the ferry for an hour! It really wasn't too bad until the ferry started to make it's turns towards Vancouver Island and I could feel the water and the movement which started making me nauseous! I went out for some air and that helped a bit. I think HonHon would really enjoy being on the ferry and I would def go on again but next time, I'll take some gravol. HonHon is a bit upset that I had gone to Victoria without him but now I'm a bit familiar with downtown Victoria and we won't get too lost when we go together. Our first stop was downtown Victoria, the tour did not include admission to the Royal Wax Museum so we did not go to the museum instead we headed over to The Fairmount Empress as I wanted to pick up some tea from the hotel. I really wanted to have afternoon tea but we did not have enough time (only an hour in downtown) and would be heading over to Chinatown for lunch so it wouldn't be a good idea to be full for our free meal (included with the tour package). We took some photos around downtown, visited the Parliament buildings, and walked around the waterfront before meeting the group at the bus. After downtown, we headed over to Chinatown for lunch at one of the oldest restaurants in Chinatown, gosh lunch was not great (or edible IMO) and there was not enough food for everyone at our table cos it was set up for 8 people, the 3 of us made it for 9. We ended up being short on the chicken and soup! I ended up ordering a couple of dim sum plates (shrimp dumplings and spring rolls) and that wasn't very tasty either! Maybe we should have had afternoon tea and walked over to the restaurant! Oh well. After lunch, we had ten minutes to take photos in Chinatown which of course I did, took many shots of the gates in Chinatown but not enough time to explore the rest of Chinatown. I would have liked to visit Fan Tan Alley, the narrowest street in Canada. After Chinatown, we were off to Butchard Gardens for another couple of hours and it is a beautiful garden filled with so many beautiful flowers. My sister really enjoyed this part of the tour as she loves flowers and her fave flower was in full bloom covering most of the garden. Tulips, tulips and more tulips with so many colours and so many types, it was def a great treat! After the garden, it was time to head back to Vancouver. The ferry ride back seemed much longer and probably was since we were up so early and had a very long day. Once in Vancouver, we decided to head over to Mui Garden on Victoria Street for dinner cos we were much too tired to cook dinner. It was a really fun day and I am so glad to have spent it with my sister and mom! (More photos on my flickr account, I had so many photos to go thru, the ones posted are my fave ones! Enjoy!)

Mama's Day Meal

Finally! Kay and I had our mama's day meal. During the afternoon, I decided to do a bit of shopping on my own cos I needed some time to myself plus Kay had a homework group date at 3pm. I headed over to Oakridge, Ikea, Future Shop, Lansdowne Mall and then back to Oakridge to pick up Kay once she was finished. At Oakridge, I dropped Kay off at the library and picked up a coffee at Starbucks, walked around the shopping centre - found nothing, Ikea, I picked up a few items that I have been meaning to pick up, Future Shop I returned an item I found less expensive online, Lansdowne Mall I went to Home Outfitters, JYSK and Zellers to find a TV foldaway tray table (for my laptop and dinner in front of the TV) and back to Oakridge (Starbucks on Cambie/39th) to pick up Kay before heading home. Kay picked up a $25 GC for Starbucks which I really appreciated but insisted that she should pay for 1/2 of dinner instead. I gave her $25 back and headed over to the Tipper on Kingsway for dinner cos we missed brunch this morning. We ordered a few items to share and I had a glass of red wine and Kay an iced tea. We talked about school and life, it was a really nice way end the day since we had such a bad morning. But I'm happy to have whatever amount of time I can get with her. Altho next year, she'll have to give me the entire day :)

Happy Mother's Day

or not.

I had a 7.25am start to the day cos I had to wake up early to drive my mom and sis to their pick up spot in Burnaby. I couldn't go back to sleep and I was too tired to go for a morning run so I decided to spend the morning in my PJs and watch TV while I waited for Kay to get up. She was suppose to take me out for brunch but never ended up doing so and I was so angry that I finally yelled at her to get up and tell her that Mother's Day brunch is cancelled cos I'm too hungry to wait any longer plus I started making my own brunch! She and I had a bit of a yelling matching this morning. Not the best way to start Mother's Day but this is the one day of the year where she is suppose to be less selfish and treat her mom to a day! After a little while I realized this wasn't good so I went into her room to explain how upset I was and she called me mean (cos I was yelling at her) and she was going to take me out, buy my a necklace, flowers and cupcake. I told her I didn't want all of that and all I really wanted was BRUNCH. One meal, her treat and that was all. She was suppose to head over to meet her friend at the library to study or something but she is not going to anymore. I guess I might have been a little over the top this morning but I was pretty upset when it was almost 1pm and she still hadn't woken up. I didn't appreciate her excuses about how I should have woken her up and when I mentioned how upset would she be if I had forgotten her birthday or made dinner plans and didn't follow thru and she said well people have forgotten her birthday. I said I'm her mother and not a friend, how would she feel if I did what she did this morning. It wouldn't have happened. I think she finally understood and I felt bad for making her cry and all the yelling I did this morning. Guess it doesn't help that I am having strong nictoine urges cos my sista has been bad and letting me take drags off her smokes! Oh well, I'm gonna go have a smoke now .....

Happy (early) Mum's Day!

We continued the weekend with more shopping and eating with my sista :)

We had another great day! We took her to Metrotown to pick up some sneakers for my sis cos she doesn't own a pair sneakers in HK and mom and her are going on a 4 day trip to Alberta (Banff, Lake Louise etc) so she needs a pair of shoes with treads. We did a bit of shopping at Metro and decided to have a snack at The Boss cos my sista needed her "lai chai"! At The Boss we ordered my fave dish to share and a snack from the tea menu and of course, a couple of lai chai's. Once we finished at Metrotown, we headed over to the Station Square Dollar store to pick up more things. After the Dollar Store, we headed over to Future Shop and Best Buy cos my sista is thinking about buying a laptop here cos it's a bit cheaper than HK. We made a quick stop at Starbucks before heading home to get ready for dinner.

We did our mother's day dinner tonite cos mom and sista are heading out to Banff tomorrow. We met up with my brother at Spice Islands Indonesian Restaurant at 7pm altho we were about 20 minutes late cos we were waiting for grandma. We ordered a variety of items and it was all pretty delish except we didn't really like the fish dish but overall, it was pretty yummy. My brother took care of the bill even though I told him I would pay 1/2 cos she's my mom too but I didn't fight with him for it.

After dinner, we ended the night with HK dessert in Richmond even tho we were all pretty stuffed. Kay didn't order anything from the dessert place so I picked up a BBT for her from Leisure. It was a great day with the family and tomorrrow, mom and sis are going on a 4 day trip to AB. It'll be quiet without them but nice to eat dinner at home cos my tummy can only take so many dinner outings. More photos on my flickr account.

Shopping and Eating

Gosh, what a long first day she had in Vancouver, we took her to shop for gifts and cream puffs - yes she needed to have some cream puffs! Hahaha... first stop to the Dollar shop which is no longer a dollar store, it's a 1.25 store now :( We had a great day of sunshine so that was nice. After dollar shop, we headed over to Superstore to pick up her cream puffs. After our shopping, we decided to go home so she could rest a bit and she unpacked all the goodies she brought back from HK for us! We got lotsa great stuff and she brought me over more Tempo tissues! Plus some hair accessories :) Most important, she brought my mom her Lee Kum Kee XO sauce and cute outfits / shoes for Ginger (which Ginger did not like at all). After a long day of shopping, gift giving and chatting, it was time to decide on what to eat for dinner. We decided on a Korean BBQ place on Kingsway close to home - it was very yummy and they added a few new items to their menu - next time we are going to try the beef braised pot. It was really nice to take the day off and spend it with my sista!

Welcome to Vancouver!

My sister has arrived from Hong Kong and it's been much too long since the last time I saw her (2001) but she hasn't changed much except that she dyed her hair blonde with pink streaks! UGH!! WTF?? Apparently, it's hot in HK right now... errr...ok ... thank goodness I'm not a honger! Can't wait to spend the next couple weeks with her!

Birthday Cupcake

Kay's birthday cupcake! Mmmm...yum! Diva cupcake, her fave cupcake!

Another Birthday Dinner

for Kay! Her grandpa took her out for her birthday. She picked Italian Tomato in Richmond and I'm pretty sure we ate here for her last birthday as well. This place doesn't serve the best pasta, it's pretty standard pasta like Boston Pizza etc. but the portions are HUGE. It's like 3 meals on one large oval plate. Kay couldn't decide what to eat so she choose this place but I think this is the last time we will eat here. I really enjoy italian and this is def not authentic italian cuisine!

Happy Birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAY!!

Today she turns 15 - wow, I can't believe she's 15 already! It just doesn't feel like she's 15, gosh how the years pass. Tonite, we took her out to a fancy restaurant to celebrate her 15th - she's become quite a lady and gosh, she is so beautiful :) I just love her to pieces and can't believe she's growing up so quickly!

Tonite, we took her out to Delilah's in the West End to celebrate her birthday. I wanted to book her at the Lux at Caprice but it booked up quite quickly and I missed the last reservation by mere minutes! We wanted to take her somewhere more "grown up" since she's almost grown up and I hardly ever take her out to places like this. The meal and service was moderate and the prices a bit higher than I expected. Overall the meal wasn't terrible but wasn't fantastic. The decor was pretty old school, kinda had an 1950ish jazzy feeling to it and I really wished I had gotten reservations at the Lux cos it's a bit more trendy and updated. Next year or maybe next time we head out, we'll take her somewhere nice like that. After dinner, we brought out her birthday cheesecake from Urban Fare since that is what she requested. It's a vanilla bean cheesecake with fresh berries and it is super delicious! One of the best cheesecakes ever! It was a nice night and it was so nice to spend it with our best girlfriends plus Kay was really happy and appreciative. I hope she had a really great birthday! More great photos on our flickr account, check it out!

SOLD!

I'm sad to see this go but it's brand new and I received a beautiful epi wallet from HonHon on V'day. It is such a shame to hold onto this wallet when I can sell it and make some money and let someone else enjoy this wallet. SOLD for $450.

Text Messaging

OMG!!

I can't believe Kay!! I am so angry with her.... I just received our cell phone bill and she went over her 2500 texts last month (texting in at 3601 texts = average of 120 texts a day!!). I have to change her phone plan to something with unlimited texting! This extra charge means this month's phone bill is almost $300 and it is not a good month to go over cos I have a ton of added expenses this month!

Enigma

Tonite, Rhoda and I met up with Kent/Ashley and friends at Enigma on West 10th in Vancouver. A live Cuban band is playing at the restaurant and we went there to check it out. Kent/Ashley's friend, Veronica, knows the owners - a couple from South Africa, of this neighbourhood restaurant and the menu has a bit of everything altho, the calamari, yam fries and sticky toffee pudding are well known favorites! I had originally wanted to order the calamari and yam fries but opted to go with the 3 course meal with a Mexican theme - Cinco de Mayo. The appy was pretty good but the main course and dessert were not so great. Oh well, there is always a next time I guess... altho I probably wouldn't go back as it is a bit further from where I live and there are many neighborhood gems closer to our place. But it was a fun nite and everyone is always so nice and entertaining!!

Make A Wish

"I'd rather be drinking a bellini"

Tonite, Kay and I headed over to Cactus Club in Burnaby to have dessert for a good cause and to make a wish :) It was so nice to sit and enjoy dessert with Kay. It's so strange to me that she is becoming such a lovely young lady even tho I will always see her as my baby girl. Gosh, can't believe how quickly time flies ....

Kay as always, ordered her apple pie with ice cream on the side - she does not like hot and cold on the same plate, she is so silly - warm apple pie with ice cream is the best! I ordered the trio dessert cos I wanted a little bit of everything altho I probably should have stuck with just the apple pie instead :( Cos I think I will be up until midnite with all the sugar in the chocolate and cheesecake! It was a great nite just chillin with my baby girl :) She's such a cool chica! Cherishing every single second I have with her cos I'm sure these "dates" will be less often as she turns 15... Gosh I can't believe it! 15 in 6 days!!!

BCCH Jeans Day

Today is BC Children's Hospital Jeans Day! For $5, you pick up a pin and wear your jeans to work. 100% of the proceeds go to the charity and this year, they threw a BBQ. It is nice to wear jeans and have an inexpensive and very yummy lunch. The BBQ is held at the Vancouver Art Gallery, for $3 (with your pin or $8 without) gets you a gourmet hot dog, chips and a drink - what a perfect warm and sunny day for an outdoor BBQ lunch!

One Year Anniversary

of Ari's death... RIP... I can't believe it's been a year... we love you and forever miss you dear Ari

My Sister's Keeper

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

Wow, what an amazing story! It brought me to tears and I'm excited to see it on the big screen! Must read!!

From Publishers Weekly

The difficult choices a family must make when a child is diagnosed with a serious disease are explored with pathos and understanding in this 11th novel by Picoult (Second Glance, etc.). The author, who has taken on such controversial subjects as euthanasia (Mercy), teen suicide (The Pact) and sterilization laws (Second Glance), turns her gaze on genetic planning, the prospect of creating babies for health purposes and the ethical and moral fallout that results. Kate Fitzgerald has a rare form of leukemia. Her sister, Anna, was conceived to provide a donor match for procedures that become increasingly invasive. At 13, Anna hires a lawyer so that she can sue her parents for the right to make her own decisions about how her body is used when a kidney transplant is planned. Meanwhile, Jesse, the neglected oldest child of the family, is out setting fires, which his firefighter father, Brian, inevitably puts out. Picoult uses multiple viewpoints to reveal each character's intentions and observations, but she doesn't manage her transitions as gracefully as usual; a series of flashbacks are abrupt. Nor is Sara, the children's mother, as well developed and three-dimensional as previous Picoult protagonists. Her devotion to Kate is understandable, but her complete lack of sympathy for Anna's predicament until the trial does not ring true, nor can we buy that Sara would dust off her law degree and represent herself in such a complicated case. Nevertheless, Picoult ably explores a complex subject with bravado and clarity, and comes up with a heart-wrenching, unexpected plot twist at the book's conclusion.

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Brake Pads

Stupid car needed new brake pads and I was def not expecting to shell out a few hundred dollars! Esp with Kay's birthday coming up, my sister's visit and my grandma's 90th birthday coming up! All these events that will already drain my bank account - not that I'm complaining but all these things come about at the same time!!! Plus I still owe Jas $250 for flights/hotel in March when we headed to San Fran! ugh.... :(

BBQ at Kent and Ashley's

Tonite, Rhoda decided she wanted to head over to Kent/Ashley's place for the BBQ and even tho she is on a detox but she brought her own food and her own chicken to grill. It was a small gathering of people, Ash/Kent invited friend from their community centre and it was such a fun atmosphere. There was plenty of food, alcohol and dessert! It was a really nice nite and I'm glad to be a part of it :) Thanks so much to Ashley and Kent for hosting!

Cambodian Food and HK Dessert

Photo from My Dinner Table

Tonite, we went out for Cambodian and Viet cuisine, a little restaurant called Phnom Pehn, in Chinatown which is well known for yummy noodles and deep fried chicken wings. Rhoda came by to pick me up and we met Kent/Ashley and Val at the restaurant. We all ordered a dish to share and there were plenty of dishes to try! It is nice to gather at a restaurant like this so you can order a number of dishes to try. It was really great to catch up and hear stories from back in the days (Rhoda/Kent/Val) as Ashley and I were not part of that history. Everyone is doing great and by the end of our meal, we could see the staff were trying to get the table back cos this place was smoking busy! We decided to have Hong Kong style dessert in Richmond but Val could not join us cos she had a lot of homework to finish before her next class. Rhoda was craving for Hong Kong style dessert so we headed to Richmond to go to her fave HK dessert place. At HK dessert place, we each ordered a dessert that looked very interesting. I had ordered a dessert with barley in it and at first, I was a bit afraid but it ended up being pretty yummy! It was a great nite and Kent/Ashley invited us both over for a BBQ tomorrow nite. But not sure if we'll go cos Rhoda is starting her crazy detox tomorrow! :)

Royal BC Museum

I am so excited about the new exhibit premiering on May 1st at the RBC Museum. Treasures: The World Cultures from the British Museum is a collaborative project with the British Museum and is displayed until September 30. Be sure to check it out before the "treasures" get shipped back to London!

Dinner with the babies!

Tonite, Rhoda and I headed out to Langely for dinner with Grace, baby Colin, Travis, Lisa, baby Jordan and Tristan for dinner at Coza, an italian restaurant. I hadn't seen the babies in a couple of months and I can't believe how much Colin and Tristan have grown! It is always so nice to catch up with everyone and so nice to spend the time playing with the babies!

Army & Navy Shoe Sale

Click to Enlarge Photo

This morning, we (Kay and I) got up early (5.45am) to meet Rhoda and Jess for the annual A&N shoe sale (VIP 7-8, 8am open to the public). Kay, Rhoda, and Jess got some great buys but I did not find anything that I LOVED LOVED (and had to have) for myself which is ok as I am saving up my $$ for a pair of JF boots and SW pumps. I'm happy that Kay found a few pairs of shoes and I could not believe how much each were priced at! GUESS going for $24.99 and I notice this year, the shoe prices have been marked down (compared to the same brands as last year) ... is it because of the current economic state? Also, last year, there were a lot more VIP customers in at 7 and there was a line up at the cash register to purchase your great buys. But this morning, it was pretty quiet and there were only about 20 or so customers in the store. Plus we were in and out at the cash register in 2 minutes! Well at least Kay got some great buys and she deserves them! She's a good kid :)

Happy 30th Birthday!

Happy 30th Birthday RaeRae!

Today, we celebrated Rae's 30th birthday by taking her to Milestone's for lunch and a surprise "mini" birthday party with cake in the afternoon. It was a lovely lunch and she was really surprised by the Cupcakes cake! It took a bit of planning and we wanted her to have her pink "princess" party with the pink table cloth, pink forks, princess plates and even pink ring party favours! Her face was priceless! I hope it was the best 30th birthday party ever!! (At the request of Rae, I have removed the Surprise Video due to this blog being in a public domain .... just a note: there are over 200 billion blogs online and estimated 1 blog is created every 2 seconds so the likeness of many strangers seeing this post is pretty low)

Family Sunday

Tonite, Kay and I went over to see my dad cos we hadn't seen him in a few weeks. I wanted to stop at IKEA before going to daddy's but Kay and I were running late so I didn't make it :( In the afternoon, Kay attended a birthday but she skipped out on the dinner so she could see her grandpapa. While Kay was at the party, I accompanied my mom to PetSmart and Tisol cos she wanted to pick up some new treat treats for Ginger. Gosh, she's a spoiled little pup, she got so many new treats!

A little before 6ish, we headed off to Richmond and we stopped in for a bit to check out my brother's new Sony HDTV LCD BRAVIA. Very very cool indeed, esp with the Blu Ray movies, the definition and picture quality is amazing! Our dinner reseravations were at 7 at Vivacity Seafood Restaurant, it seems to be one of my dad's fave places to eat! As always, my father ordered way too much food for the 4 of us, ordering a set dinner for 6 cos it came with Peking duck and a deep fried crab dish. There were many leftovers but it's ok cos Kay and I had lunch for the next day. We headed back to my dad's place after dinner and Kay and I started watching WALL-E - ohmygosh, it is such a cute movie! Except we didn't get the chance to finish it cos it was getting late and we needed to get up early the next day for school and work. We are def going to have to buy this movie, it is so darn cute plus it would be nice to catch the ending. :)

BBQ & B'day Celebration

What an awesome night! Tonite, we (same Wine & Dine crew) headed over to Shel and Kit's place to have a wine and BBQ gathering. What wonderful hosts Shel and Kitty were! BBQ was awesome and so were all the fixings that everyone brought to share! Each one of us brought something and I brought a Caesar salad with a homemade Caesar dressing. Everyone enjoyed the homemade dressing and I really glad cos it's the first time I've ever made a Caesar dressing! It was Game 2 for Canucks (play off season!!) and of course, we had to watch the game. Canucks did us proud, 3 - 0 - yeah!! After the game and all the food served, we decided to cut the birthday cake - this is the first time we've celebrated Shel's b'day, his actual birthday was yesterday and he had celebrated it with his family. But since this was the first time we've ever had dinner with him so close to his birthday, I decided to pick up a birthday cake for him. The cake was surprisingly very yummy and I am def going back to Saint Germain Bakery to purchase future birthday cakes! It was a great nite as always and great company! Much thank you to Shel and Kitty for holding the gathering and firing up the BBQ!

Sunday Cleaning & Cooking

This late afternoon, we (Tash tagged along for the ride cos she slept over the nite before) met up with Jess at Save On Foods on Cambie street to do a bit of grocery shopping. Kay was going over there to help tidy house for Jess and I was going to teach Jess how to make mac'n'cheese cos it's so easy and the box stuff is so GROSS!! After shopping, we headed straight downtown to the Sheraton Wall Centre. I parked on the street right by the residence entrance and Starbucks while Jess parked her vehicle in the garage, she then met us up in the lobby (Starbucks) before taking us up the condo. Once we got upstairs, I started prep'ing for dinner while Jess gave Kay the run down of where the supplies were and how she likes things cleaned. It only took Kay about 2 hours to clean and it really isn't that much to clean cos Jess is a clean freak. While Kay was cleaning, I was helping Jess make dinner and once everything was done, we sat down to eat. Mmmm... def very delish, Jess's first time for making mac'n'cheese altho we overcooked the noodles a bit! Overall, it was a nice and quiet evening. Oh yes, I also got a chance to see the wedding plans and it's really exciting to see the ideas and pictures! It is going to be a spectacular wedding!!!

Dinner and Dessert with mini Best Buds

Tonite, we had dinner and dessert with Jess cos we hadn't seen her in awhile and we wanted to catch up on life with her. Before I met up with Jess, I picked up Kay and Tash (Kay invited Tash cos she and Tash were hanging out and didn't want to leave Tash alone) and together we headed over to Favorito Pasta Trattoria on Broadway. It was so nice to finally sit down and catch up with Jess. I can't believe she's getting married in 4 months!! How exciting and how quick the year has gone by! After dinner, we headed over to Cheesecake Etc to eat cheesecake for dessert and do some more catching up. We all love the cheesecake here and this place is always busy but we did get a table. It is nice to see that CE has expanded and opened up another restaurant right next door called "Tigers". I usually have the plain cheesecake with strawberries but I decided to order the chocolate cheesecake cos Jess said it was super yummy plus the girls were sharing one as well. Oh I am so glad I did, it was delish! Very very yummy and def my fave now :) During dessert, Kay mentioned that she was looking for a job and Jess offered her a cleaning job, she would pay Kay $20 to tidy up her condo and Kay would start tomorrow! We will see how that goes and how long this job will last cos Kay is a bit lazy!

Dim sum with Kay's BFF's mums

Today I woke up early (9am) to catch a 30 minute run before heading out for dim sum at Westlake Restaurant on Victoria Street. Kay and Tashna wanted to have dim sun and Laurie (Tash's mum) and I decided it would be a great time to really get to know each other since the girls are constantly together. We also invited another mum, Jodi who is M's mum cos the 3 girls are really close. Westlake is Tash's fave dim sum restaurant so Laurie who can speak fluent cantonese made the reservations for 11am. Gosh, was it ever busy! Even with reservations, we still had to wait for about 20 minutes. Dim sum was fantastic and it was really nice getting to know the mums and to watch how the girls interact with each other. We decided we should do it again and maybe we'll have a Indonesian dinner date! It was really nice to finally meet Jodi and to get to know Laurie a bit more. I am happy to see Kay with a good group of best girlfriends.

Road Trip to Seattle

What a long and tiring day! Today, seven of us met up for a day trip to Seattle and I didn't really plan on shopping since I had just came back from SF but somehow I still managed to spend $60!! The border line up at the truck crossing was insane, it was about a 2 hour line up and the peace crossing was even longer! Apparently, the guys knew of a shortcut and decided to take the short cut to the crossing, cutting out about 30 or so minutes off our wait time. But some of us had to use the washroom before going thru customs so we walked (which didn't seem that far on the GPS) to the gas station to use the washroom. There was a 30 minute line up for the washroom! It was insane and one of the washrooms (the one I managed to get into finally!) was flooded and the toilet was not flushing properly and the floor was disgusting! Eww...thank goodness it was a quick one! When we finished, we headed towards the border cos we found out the van was only about 20 cars before the border - woohoo!! Couldn't believe it! We finally got into the states and off we went, first stop Jack in the Box cos it was already past noon (we left Richmond at 8am) and Rhoda really needed her sourdough jack! I am on a strict limited junk food diet so I had the sourdough grilled chicken jack with no cheese and a side salad and water. I was a bit envious of everyone eating their greasy sourdough jack and curly fries but I knew by dinner time, I would be eating more grease so I figured I'd splurge there. After JIB, we drove to the outlet mall to do a bit of shopping but we didn't spend that much time there. I bought a nike dryfit running long sleeved top and a little bag from LeSportSac for carrying my wallet and stuff when I bike or hike. Once we finished the mall, we headed towards Seattle cos the crew wanted to hit downtown for some boutique shopping and G wanted to stop in a store that sells turntables (which we didn't end up going to and it was closed by the time he got there!). I hadn't been in downtown Seattle before so it was quite a treat! We ended up parking right by Pike Place Market and we stopped in to see what it was like again, I have never been. It is a pretty neat place, it reminds me of Granville Island and the Farmer's Market all in one! After PP, we headed into the downtown core and did some more shopping and walking around. Again, I didn't find much and wasn't looking for anything, after a couple of hours, it was time to think about where we should eat for dinner. We decided to drive downa street that had a lot of restaurants and decided to try something more casual (instead of fine dining - which is what they preferred) and headed over to a restaurant that served ribs. Boy, my rib platter was huge and super yummy! I finished the entire platter and then some, which wasn't such a good idea cos I ended up with a really bad tummy ache! I don't think I'll be able to eat much meat this upcoming week! After our meal, we headed back towards the border and the ride was long and tiring. I don't think I will have any desire to head down to the States any time soon as this trip was more than enough for me! It was a great day spending time and getting to know everyone a little bit more!

Lifestyle Change

Since I quit smoking, I've gained a bit of weight and its not healthy weight like muscle mass, it's FAT as in white carbs, sugar and fat. I have eaten way more cheese, bread, cupcakes and restaurant food in the past month for an entire year and that is not including the red wine and alcoholic drinks I've also had, let's just say it's all starting to stick! I haven't really added more cardio to my routine so this week, I worked much harder than any other week (swimming twice a week and nonstop for 30 mins!) and just started to run today afterwork. The sun had come out (altho I would have ran with or without the sun) by the late afternoon early evening and I ran for 30 minutes around the park plus did some toning exercises with my elastic bands and sit ups! OMG, it burned and it felt good. I think if I can keep this up, I'll be able to lose the inch and get back into my clothes! Plus I have a very pretty (and expensive) BJ dress for Jess's wedding in August that I MUST get into for her wedding.

Malay Cuisine

Tonite, we headed over to Richmond to eat Malaysian food at a little place called Ellie. Vince and Meryl were raving how great this place is and were disappointed to see a sign on the front door stating it is closing their doors on April 17 (BBT last Friday). Rhoda and I met them at the restaurant and for the first time ever, V & M were on time and beat me there! It wasn't too busy when we arrived but as we were getting our dishes, the crowd really started to fill the restaurant. V & M ordered for us cos they've been here before and had a few fave's on the menu. I guess we didn't come early enough as a couple of their dishes were no longer available and we had to substitue another dish. Overall, the food was pretty good and the ambiance of the restaurant is nice. We found out that Ellie was not relocating and it was closing their doors forever due to the owner's health. It's too bad, M is thinking about a business venture! Hehehe... she and V could def do this, run a restaurant, they've got the experience and the equipment! After dinner, we decided to grab some coffee at Bean Around the World and chit chat for a bit before calling it a nite! It was a yummy dinner and so cool to hang out with my best buds!

Sunny Sunday

What a perfect warm sunny day to bike around the seawall and that is just what we did! Although, we started a bit later than planned as Vince and Meryl woke up late in the afternoon, it was still quite warm out by the time we were finished. V & M came by around 3ish to pick me and my bike up, V put the bike on the roof rack and we started off towards Science World. Lucky us, we found free parking on the street and not too far from our starting point. Gosh, it was it ever busy and there were so many people out on bikes and blades enjoying this spring weather! We started off at the beginning of Science World and biked until Denman and Beach Avenue. We decided to lock up the bikes at the beach and walk up and down Denman Street for a bit, wow, so many new restaurants and so many changes to this street. We stopped into a store that sold and carried candy and novelty items like Simpsons, Hello Kitty and a lot of old skool lunch boxes and Disney glasses (from McDonalds) and I picked up a cute little Hello Kitty tin with sour candies! So cute lah! As we were walking back towards the beach, we decided it'd be a good idea to have a snack (or dinner!) before getting back onto the bikes. Meryl wanted to have a burger (craving it!) and we were trying to decide on a Vera's Burger Shack or Fat Burger - we decided on Fat Burger cos those 2 hadn't tried FB before. V ordered a turkey burger, M ordered a swiss cheese mushroom burger with fries and I ordered a baby fat (mini cheeseburger) with a side of onion rings. Both V and I were not impressed with our burgers and M thought her burger was pretty tasty altho when we (V and I) tried it, we didn't think it tasted like anything but mushy burger on a mushy bun! I don't like FB's burger bun is soft and mushy like McDonald's buns and the cheese was not real cheese instead it was processed cheese slices (also like McDonald's!). We agreed the next time, we are heading straight to Vera's Burger Shack! Vera's has a great selection of regular and specialty burgers (also they use great buns and REAL cheese!) plus it's a local business from Vancouver since 1977 which is awesome! A bit more pricer than the FB but def worth the extra couple of dollars for quality burgers! After our meal, we started our bike route around English Bay to and thru Stanley Park and back around to English Bay. It was a really easy scenic bike route and with awesome views of the mountains! We biked about 2 1/2 to 3 hours total (not including the walking, stopping, eating etc.), since we all biked at different paces and some of us stopped to take in the views, we ended up meeting back at Denman and Beach Avenue. Finishing the route and returning to the car, my bum and muscles were def feeling sore.

Granville Island

What a lovely sunny day we had today in Vancity! It is so nice to have such lovely spring weather and it was very warm this afternoon. We had such a beautiful day, I decided it would be a great day to head over to Granville Island. Rhoda needed to get out of the house and wanted me to be keep her from going to sleep too early (still jet lagged from HK) so we hung out for the day (which we haven't done in a while or since she's been back!). Wow, GI was soooo busy, traffic bumper to bumper but it was worth the wait cos once we arrived, the first stop was the GI market cos there are a lot of yummy edible items are sold. I bought a couple of pineapples from Maui (usually it's from Costa Rica or Mexico - those are not as sweet) and loaves of bread from Terra Breads. After an hour and half of walking around, we decided to drive over to Yaletown to do some more walking and window shopping. We have also been meaning to stop in at Gateau Lingerie which is owned by a friend of a friend. Nice designer lingerie but priced a bit more than what I would want to pay. Yaletown wasn't as busy as Granville Island and we walked through Yaletown within an hour so we decided to go to the new London Drugs on Cambie and Broadway. I picked up some natural shampoo and conditioner for HonHon's place cos it's getting to be a pain to bring all my bath stuff to his place after my swim. We quickly did a browse through LD and decide to head back to my place so I could prep dinner. A fun filled day and we might go for dessert with Jess later tonite. I love dessert!