BBQ Party!

Today, we drove out to Langley (thanks Rhoda and Nelson for driving!) to celebrate Jordan's second birthday! His parents were throwing a huge BBQ at their new house (well not quite new, they have been in there for about 10 months!) and invited friends and family to attend. Gosh, there was a ton of great food and fun people! The house is so beautiful and spacious (4000 sq feet!). Grace and Isabella were there and it was so nice to see them and catch up, gosh how much Isabella has grown since the last time I saw her! Beautiful baby :) We had such a good time and I'm so glad we got a chance to see their beautiful home. Rhoda was "pimping" Kay out to her friends with kids and I don't think Kay was too happy about all the kids she may have to babysit! It was pretty funny! Hahaha... well she better start earning some monie$, how else is she going to buy all her pumas, juicy, tna and lululemon stuff!

More photos on flickr....

Warehouse Party

What a fun night! Tonight, I headed over to a warehouse party with Rhoda, she invited me along and it was def. a good time! Food, booze, it was an open bar, and a lot of great people. This is a yearly party held by her company to thank all the clients for their business. It was so much fun and it's neat to watch Rhoda mingle with her clients, total business woman with a bit of spice :) Love it! I also happen to bump into an old high school friend whom I just recently found on Facebook! How small is the world??? Sorry no photos, didn't bring my camera :(

Yuk Yuk's

Tonight Jas and I headed out for a bit of shopping and dinner before the comedy show at Yuk Yuk's. We met up right after work and headed over to Pacific Centre to check out Holt Renfrew, Jas is looking for a new "work" bag :) and finding nothing within her price range, we headed over to Robson street to check out my upcoming new fall boots at Browns B2. These boots are so cute and are totally my style but the price not so much. Jas agreed that they were cute and so for me but not for her! I have to think about them and they are at a pretty reasonable price for knee high boots! After doing a bit of window shopping, we decided to have a quick bite at Tropika on Robson street. Dinner was yummy but greasy and I know my stomach is going to feel it later! We headed over to Yuk Yuk's a bit early but figured we could pick up our tickets and have a drink at the hotel lounge. We chilled for a bit and I had a yummy martini before heading downstairs to the show. Gosh, the crowd was quite young and we realized of course it would be since it's the MTV crowd! The main act was Gilson Lubin and he's a MTV host but a comedian on the side. We were also there to see him and really excited to watch him perform live comedy because he's pretty funny on MTV. The show was def. hilarious and he is a real character to watch! We enjoyed every minute of his show :)

Shopping in the US

Wow, what a day of shopping! Last night, Kay and I slept over at Rhoda's place because we planned on getting up super early to hit the border and gosh was it ever a great idea! We ended up staying up way too late and waking up way too early but def. well worth it. I made the decision to take only $280 USD with me because I did not want to put any charges on my credit card and honestly, do I really need more than $280 to shop? We headed out nice and early, about 6.30am and the border wasn't too crazy long. But we got stopped in customs for a bit, apparently we look too young to drive an expensive car! After making it out of customs alive, we headed off to the Seattle Premium Outlet. We were there quarter to 10 (opens at 10.00am) and it's a good thing we decided to stop at the outlet first (we had planned on stopping in on our way back to Vancouver) coz it was already super busy when we got there! We hit the few stores that we needed to, Puma, Nike, and a couple of others, we were only there for an hour and by the time we left, it was super crazy packed!! I got a really nice pair of Puma sneakers for $49.99 and a pair of Puma capris for $19.99! After our brief shopping expedition, we headed off towards Seattle to pick up some vitamins for Jess but making a quick stop for lunch at Jack in the Box, apparently it's a tradition for them when they hit the states. Kay and I have never been to Jack in the Box and gosh, we had no idea what we were missing! It was super yummy! Sourdough Jack is the way to go! After lunch, we were back onto the freeway to make our way towards the small mall just outside of Seattle. After finding our way around, we picked up the vitamins and headed back north towards another mall in between Seattle and the Premium Outlet where there are lots of great stores and brands. Kay and I were not disappointed, I spent the rest of my money in the mall picking up a few tops for myself and Kay, Bath and Body Works, love their stuff, picked up some bubble bath, body butter and hand cream from the Brown Sugar and Fig line, a little lipgloss kit from Sephora and finishing off with ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery which has some amazing ice cream! Basically you choose a flavour on the menu, they put it and mix it up on this really dark and cold stone, sooo yummy! Apparently, this place didn't have the large selection it has in Haiwaii! Gosh, can you imagine all the flavours?? After a very long day with way too much driving and sitting in the car, we headed back towards Vancouver and when we finally got to the border, we had to wait 45 minutes! We cleared customs and decided to go to Richmond for dinner before calling it the end of the night. It was such a great road trip and Rhoda and I had a lot of road time to catch up on stuff and some more! These kind of road trips are the best!

Work Week from Hell

What a week! I have been working weekends and staying late for the past week and half to get a proposal out! On Tuesday and Thursday I stayed at work until ten and midnight! Only to come in on Friday morning with a bizillion changes! I am not taking an extended long weekend with the Tuesday off coz I think I deserve it! Looking forward to a quiet weekend .....

Ariztia Warehouse Sale

Today after work, I headed over to Tinseltown to the Ariztia Warehouse Sale, held annually but today was by invite only. Gosh, did I do a lot of damage there! I found some great stuff for Kay and I for about $260! I manage to find a cute 3/4 sleeve jacket for work, a fitted wool dress for work, a cute gold sparkly jersey top for going out (had been eyeing this top for a while but would not spend $60 on it, I got it for $19.99!), a very cute jersey black top for going out. Kay picked up a skull hoodie, polka dot leggings and a cute little dress. I had forgotten to look for the matching vest for my pinstripe suite but Rhoda found it and I couldn't believe the price, $19.99! I had wanted to buy one months ago but forgotten to look for it. I really didn't go into the suit section coz I had already picked up two suits from Ariztia. Oh well, maybe next year. I also tried looking for a nice pair of Rock & Republic jeans but couldn't find my size in the ones I liked. Those jeans were a steal, $99 from $350! Oh well, I'm not really a jean person anyways. Overall, it was a great experience, except for the craziness in there (almost like boxing day sales!) and thank you so much Rhoda for taking us with her, she had a limited amount of people that she could bring. Jas got a great deal as well, she found 2 winter jackets for the price of 1! Love shopping :)

BBQ!

Today, after my very short shift at work, I headed over to Rhoda's place for a BBQ! I didn't have time to prepare anything for the BBQ so I stopped by the liquor store to pick up a few bottles of wine. Before I headed over to Rhoda's, I did a quick stop at Oakridge to the Fido kiosk to change our plans and to see if I could get a phone or two. Gosh, it was super busy and customer service is awesome, Jay at Fido Kiosk is a really cool guy and really tried to help me by holding on the line to find out if I could pick up a new phone or two right at that moment. Apparently when Rogers Communications took over Fido, the rules changed and now you cannot get your new phone right away when you renew your contract, there is a 3 month waiting period. I was shocked because I really wanted to pick up two new phones today, one for my coworker and another one for my mom. But he couldn't get a hold of anyone so after 30 minutes of trying, we decided to try again another day. I will most def. ask for him the next time coz he knows my situation and the girls at the kiosk don't seem to know what they are talking about! After fido, I picked Kay up from her friends (she was at a sleepover) and we headed over to Rhoda's place for the BBQ! I was surprised to hear that she was still holding it coz the weather report said it was going to rain! To our surprise and our very first, a garage BBQ party! They decided to have the BBQ in the garage! It was an interesting and fun idea! Friends started coming by and it was really fun. Lots of booze, food and fun times. We had so much fun and it was great spending time with such good friends as Kay and I are having a hard time dealing with the VERY LATE ARRIVAL of HonHon. He has cancelled on us for the THIRD or FOURTH TIME.... I have lost track... but Thanks Rhoda for holding this awesome BBQ! Good time, good times. Love them like family.

Hell's Kitchen

Tonight I celebrated my b'day with Karen, her boyfriend, Andrew, and Jas at Hell's Kitchen. I've always wanted to try Hell's Kitchen (there are entertainment coupons in the Ent. book) and it was not as impressive as I thought. The food was pretty yummy and the atmosphere is pretty casual and pub like so I might have been a little overly dressed but I'm happy to have tried it once, used another entertainment coupon and didn't have to pay for it! Also very happy that Jas came with us coz I def. would have been the third wheel! Right after we sat down at our table, Andrew left our table to go back to the car coz he "forgot something" and I didn't think anything of it but when he came back to the table, it was a beautiful bouquet of flowers! Wow, what a surprise! They were beautiful :) Love them, I love those birds of paradise, these are rare and very expensive, beautiful! The waitress came by to take our drink and food order, while we waited, we caught up on each other's lives as we have not seen each other for two months. Life has been pretty hectic for both of us and our kids are heading back to school soon so I totally understand how our summer flew by so fast. For dinner, I ordered a burger and upgraded my french fries to their poutine mmmmm yummy poutine, dinner was pretty yummy and the drinks were ok. Right before the bill came, there was another surprise! Karen and Andrew also picked up a b'day cake for me! Wow, it was beautiful and super yummy!! Gosh, I am so spoiled! I still have one more b'day dinner to celebrate! The celebration never ends ;) After dessert, we decided to head back to their place to check out their new Wii and Jas had a blast playing it! Hehehe, like a big kid :) Andrew opened up a really nice bottle of red wine from 2003 for me which was nice coz I love red wine esp. from that year! After a couple of hours of fun, we decided to call it a night coz I had to work in the morning. Yes I am working on the weekend. Yet again! It was a really fun night and a good time after the long work week and the terrible day I had. Lovely way to end off the work week. A couple more photos on my flickr account.

$1000 per square foot

Wow, I just found out that my girlfriend in HK just paid a whopping 2.8 million HK dollars for 400 square foot condo in Hong Kong!! Wow, that's $1000 CDN per square foot! I guess she really is planning to stay in Hong Kong for a while....

Lunch at Rochelle's

This afternoon for lunch, we headed over to Rochelle's apartment in the west end for a combined birthday brunch/lunch. Our birthdays are 10 days apart and we thought it would be so much fun to get our friends together to celebrate. Thanks Rochelle for hosting! It was a super lovely time with good people all around. Vince and Meryl even made it out which is awesome since we don't see them much anymore. Rochelle provided us a lovely lunch with couscous, chips and dip, chicken noodle soup and sandwiches. Very yummy! Both, Meryl and I brought dessert over for the birthday girl. It was def. a lovely and relaxing day with good people. Rochelle's bestest bud, Michelle, enjoyed playing around with my camera and took a lot of great shots and moments, above are a few of the shots, more on my flickr account. Lovely day with good food and great friends!

Baci's

Tonight, I went out for an Italian dinner, Baci's Ristorante, with Rhoda, her cousin and friends. I haven't seen Lina in over 10 years! Wow, she looks great and hasn't aged one bit! Cute as ever too :) It was so much fun and those people are hilarious! I didn't stop laughing the entire night! So much fun!! Plus the food was super yummy and there is an entertainment coupon in the entertainment book if you have one, def. a must try! I don't have any photos of tonight though :( There is a live band and a dance floor but the crowd is def. an older mature crowd, I think we were the youngest group there. Also, an Elvis impersonator came by our table to sing to Rhoda and I and it nearly freaked the crap out of me! Fun times, fun times! A night to remember! Thanks Rhoda! Love You!

Canadian Passport

Wow, my Canadian Passport has arrived! That is super fast! I can't believe I got it in a week and two days!! My grandma's passport hasn't even arrived yet and she sent it out months ago by mail.... luckily my grandma is no longer travelling to HK with my mom or else we'd have to track it and put a rush on it. I was planning to travel to HK in October but decided not to since it's Kay's first year in highschool and I want to be here for her in case of anything. Maybe next year .... but it's still good to have your passport on hand because we need it to cross the border. I plan on hitting the outlet and shopping malls this upcoming long weekend. Sales, sales and more sales!

Fritz European Fry House

Kay took the bus downtown again to meet me after work for poutine. Kay and I have been wanting to try this place out, Fritz European Fry House and this place is known to have the best poutine in town. Boy is it ever ONE of the best places to have poutine but it's a tie with New York Fries which also serves AWESOME POUTINE!! Little more than what I would normally pay for french fries, cheese curds and gravy (Dinner cost me $16!) but it was yummy!! A must try and def. on our list for poutine!

Kay's first time...

...taking the bus by herself that is!! OMG, was I ever worried about it! Of course, she had no problems getting here and she made it all the way from Seymour to Thurlow, it's only about 4 block radius but being the worried mother I am, I was freaking out!! Tonight, I'm hitting the Grind with Rhoda and we were planning to head back to Rhoda's place for dinner since I was driving but I didn't want to leave Kay at home all by herself so Kay bused it downtown by herself (first time ever!!) and Jess is going to take her back with her. I'm sure the next time she takes the bus, I'll be fine with it, it's only the first time that I worry like crazy!

The Hills Season Premiere

WOW, what a premiere! Cat fights and all this juicy drama!!!! This is going to be an awesome season! Love our After Show too, it is awesome in fact so awesome that MTV.com picked it up too!

Clubbing at Plush

I am too old and feeling like I am going to be deaf from clubbing! It was a fun night with the girls and both do those girls know how to party! Karen is such a cutie and she's a totally happy and very loud drunk! Reminds me of myself back in the day :) But Jas and I realized we are much too old to be doing this and I don't think I'll be doing this again any time soon .... or EVER!!! I have to say though, it was such a compliment to find some people thinking that I was 23! Hahaha ...yeah, switch those numbers around! Fun times fun times....

Russell Peters was in the house! He was dj'ing for the last 30 minutes before the club closed and I have to say, he's not that great. Music started to go downhill when he started dj'ing. Jess and Karen shoved their way into the dj booth to get a photo with him. Wow, those two are daring! More photos to be posted.....

GG

No longer am I going to post my time unless I make a DRASTIC TIME CHANGE since I am averaging 55 to 58 mins each time I head up the Grind. This morning the drilling outside my apartment woke me up at 7.30am!! It was suicidal!! I don't know how much more I can take!!!

Happier note, Kay did the Grind again and she did it in 1 hr and 20 mins! Good for her!!!

Nightmarket and Surprise!

Wow, Kay chopped off her hair!! Kay and Rhoda made appointments at Spa Utopia Academy and both of them got their hair done. Both of them look GREAT!! I love Kay's new hairstyle, it's so grown up! I don't have photos but Rhoda took tons of photos of Kay during her week with her. I'll post them when I get them from Rhoda.

Tonight, I went to the night market with Rhoda, Jess and Kay. I got a cute little gym bag for $15, a knock off Hello Kitty charm (for my new purple gym bag) for $5. After the night market, it was off for dessert! Yum yum, we had Honger dessert at Sweet 23 sooooo yummy! But I think I am going to feel it tomorrow morning when I hit the Grind at 8.30am!!

GG

58 MINS

Kay also went up the Grind with us and for her first time, she did pretty good, 1 hr and 15 mins! She almost slipped half way up but luckily, Rhoda caught her before she tumbled down the mountain! Kay dropped her bottle of water and almost lost her grip!! It can be quite slippery up there, you have to be super careful and know how to balance yourself! I am so PROUD of her!!! Earlier in the day, those two did a lot of baking and making stuff! I got a bag of caramel popcorn, an apple (flourless) muffin and a homemade blueberry pie!! Yummeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

B'day Lunch

My friends at work took me out for a belated b'day lunch at Victoria Restaurant in Royal Centre Mall. It was super yummy and so fabulous!! We don't get to have lunch all together too often so it was really nice to see and have lunch with everyone.