Garden

Appys & Tea

Tonight I finally got to see my beautiful Ana :) I have not had a chance to see her since her arrival back to Vancouver a couple of months ago as we have both been busy, delaying our plans but tonight was the night! We made plans to have coffee at Sweet Revenge on Main street but I wasn't sure they were opened so early. If they weren't open (which they were not), we decided to meet at The Reef for drinks and appys. It was such a great evening as the sun and temperatures were very warm for the patio but it was a full house and there was a mile long waiting list to sit out there. We settled for inside (close to the door so we could get some sun!) which was super packed and noisy as everyone was out tonight for drinks after a long work week. It was a bit hard to talk in there but we managed to shout over people and catch up on each other's lives. Ana is still the same Ana that left Vancouver a couple of years ago, she hasn't changed much at all! It was so great to see her and I always enjoy her company. We are like two souls that can connect no matter how much time has passed between us. She is such a lively and soulful person and the connection we have is sparkling! After drinks, we decided to walk down Main street and see what else was opened, maybe for a couple more drinks but on our way to the next place, we passed a small but quaint tea shop. We decided to stop in for tea at Shaktea instead of the lounge/bar cos this place seemed more quiet and better place to continue our conversations. Besides, I have never seen this place before (when I lived in the area) and it was a def lovely tea place with lots of interesting teas to choose from. I am a huge tea fan, I love tea! After an hour, I realized it was time to go as Kay and I had plans to meet Rhoda and Jess for the first night of the Richmond nightmarket. We gave each other kisses/hugs, said our good byes and decided to get together again tomorrow for drinks and fun.

The night market wasn't that exciting and there were many stalls that were empty. The food section of the market wasn't even opened! We probably did the whole night market in about 30 minutes and we were taking our time. Jess picked up a couple of iPod accessories and that was about it. After night market, Kay wanted bubble tea so we headed to the BB tea place that we always go to when in Richmond and that place was packed! I think it took about 15 minutes or so to just order drinks! After a bit, we decided to call it a night cos Rhoda and Jess are heading over to Vancouver Island tomorrow to see the Cirque Du Soleil show in Victoria.

Coolest Art Piece Ever!

London
London
New York, NY

The Telectroscope - How interesting, wish I could go see this exhibition!

Visit the gallery for more photos!

A few ...

... more thoughts ...

Ari was really my dog and I think even Kay realized this. I guess this is why I am more heartbroken and devastated by his death than Kay is. She is handling this much better than I and she is my support system. My baby girl is really not a baby girl anymore, she is so mature and such a strong person that she has been comforting me, reassuring me and supporting me for the last few days.

In my mind, I know I will truly never be over this and I know I should try to stop feeling guilty and stop thinking about his death. Instead, I should focus on his life and the happiness he brought into our lives. This is going to take time and I know once I get over this part of it, it will get easier. My brother (who lost Bea a year and a bit ago) reassures me it will and one day, I will be able to look back and only remember the happy and great times we had together. I must accept and deal with his death and realize that I did whatever I could to save him (if not beyond). I know my brother is right and he isn't at all surprised that I am still so upset. (I called him late in tears) He let me know this will take a while before I am at that place where I can smile and be happy when thinking of him and his life with us.

But of course, I have new guilty thoughts to deal with .......

Although I would like to express my new guilty thoughts, I think I better not cos there are people who care a lot about me that read this blog and I don't want them to worry anymore. Their support, love and understanding is helping me through this and without them, I don't know how I would handle this....

THANK YOU, I LOVE YOU.... (y'know who you are)

Rainbow Bridge

(Image provided by CC49 on flickr)

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.


You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together...

Author Unknown.... Poem found on Pet Loss Grief Support

Gifts from Japan!

Boot Camp

Boot camp is not as hard as I thought it would be even though I am feeling a bit sore from it. Lots of cardio and abs exercises. Dayam! Working on muscles that I didn't even know existed! I signed Rhoda, Jess and I up for this course cos those two originally wanted to try Cardio Core Boot Camp and I know that course i incredibly hard! I knew this course wasn't going to be hardcore cos it's a community centre program and I am thankful for that! It is going to be a fun experience and I'm glad to be doing it with my girls. Hmmm... maybe we should sign Kay up for the next one :)

Sleepless Nights

This past weekend has been really hard for me. For the past three nights, I have been restless, feeling guilty and crying many tears about our dear sweet little Ari. I really miss his companionship so much so that my mind is starting to go through all the emotions of guilt and I am replaying the last couple weeks of his life over and over. What could have I done earlier? Why didn't I take him to the vet when he wasn't himself? What if I never took him away from his first home, I'm sure the previous owners (the ladies) who had him would have notice something not quite right with him and maybe his life could have been saved. Why couldn't I have noticed earlier? Why couldn't we save his life? So many whys, maybes and what ifs. All I know is he didn't live a full life and it was indefinitely too short.

The one month anniversary is coming up in a few days and I am having a really rough time. I can't stop thinking of my little Ari and how much we loved and adored him. He was such a smart and beautiful dog, I am still so devastated by his loss, not knowing for certain if I will ever get over his death but all I know is we really miss him terribly so......

RIP Ari, forever loved and missed.....

EAT Vancouver!

This afternoon, Kay and I went to Eat Vancouver with Rhoda and Nel. We go every year and it never disappoints us! This year, the cheese stand did not give out samples of cheese unless you sat in for their cheese presentation which disappointed us cos Kay and I just wanted to sample cheese! After 20 minutes, we lost Rhoda and Nel cos it was just so crowded and busy but we texted each other and gave a time and destination place. Kay and I pretty much went through the entire exhibition except for the alcohol and pet sections cos Kay can't get into the alcohol section and we just lost Ari which made me feel a bit sorry and sad cos I was super excited about picking up samples and new food items for him. Kay and I had some food tickets (thank you Nel) and we decided to try this French bistro restaurant, Cassis, and I was surprised that Kay liked the dish cos I didn't think she would. We may have to visit this restaurant one day with HonHon. Once we were done, Rhoda and Nel wanted to head over to PC cos Hugo Boss was having a suit sale, up to 40% off their suits. While Rhoda and Nel were in HB, Kay and I checked out the new Apple store, wow very coo and pretty. We also headed over to Holt Renfrew and Browns (designer shoe sale!!!). We walked up and down Granville street a bit and after 45 minutes as we headed back, we saw that Rhoda and Nel were done suit shopping. After the mall, we decided to call it a day cos we were all super tired. The evening was quiet and relaxed, I made dinner for my mom and Kay was suppose to go to Mel's house for a sleepover but plans got cancelled. I can't believe how fast these weekends go.....

MADONNA

WE GOT MADONNA TICKETS!! I AM SUPER EXCITED!!! Thanks to Rhoda for waking up early, logging on and getting our seats. Madonna has never been to Vancouver and this will be the first time and maybe her only time!!

Happy Victoria Day :)

What crazy long weekend weather we are having here in Vancouver, the temperatures on Saturday and Sunday were extreme! It was as high as 28C but feeling more like 30C. But this morning, we woke up to clouds and dampness and during the afternoon errand runs with my mom, it started to downpour on us! Gosh, I can't believe how drastic the weather changes are but at least it wasn't cold today. The rain might have brought the blues but it was def a nice warm temperature. Since mom and I did most of our grocery shopping on Saturday (BBQ night), we didn't have much to pick up except a few misc items. We headed over to Superstore to return an item and gosh it was crazy busy! People were back from their long weekend vacation and picking up the weekly groceries or stocking up their pantries? After Superstore, we headed over to LD on Victoria to pick up some stuff that I didn't find at Superstore, Dryel cos I need to dryclean a couple of my jackets and Rubbermaid Produce Savers cos I love products that can extend the freshness of my fruits or veggies! After LD, we headed over to the Victoria Chinese Supermarkets to check out the produce section and mom picked up a bag of thailand jasmine brown rice, I'm so proud of her. She is really trying hard to switch her eating habits. After our errands, we decided to head home so I could prep our dinner, I planned on cooking her dinner cos I wanted to show her the salmond can be tasty and moist. I baked the salmon at 350F with some fresh dill, salt, pepper and 1/4 of lemon for 20 minutes and bam! done and moist. She really enjoyed that with the leftover greek side salad. I think I have convinced her to eat more fish, I am trying to incorporate fish into our meals, once or twice a week! Very good for you :)

Wow, I can't believe the weekend is OVER and we are back to work tomorrow. At least it's a short week, after a long weekend it's hard to get back into the groove of getting up at 6.30am .......

Happy Birthday Grandma!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA!

Tonight we celebrated my grandmother's 89th birthday at Red Star Seafood Restaurant on Granville Street in Vancouver. Reservations were early cos the only reservation time slots were 6.30 or 8.30 and 8.30 would have been way too late for all of us esp for my brother cos he usually parties over the weekend.

Mom and I decided to take grandma shopping in the afteroon cos grams still had a Winner's gift card from her birthday last year that she hadn't used. My grams doesn't get out to go shopping much anymore with us cos she gets tired quite easily plus she has to take her time walking. We took her to Oakridge Centre cos mom had to hit the Fido kiosk to inquire about a new cellphone and plan. After Fido, we took her over to The Bay cos we knew she liked shopping there plus she hadn't been in The Bay for quite some time. There were a ton of sales on shoes and clothing but no one (except for me) ended up with something and it wasn't a pair of shoes (even though I was close to purchasing a pair!). I picked out a lovely Kensie silk dress for less than $80! Wow! It was the last size small (xsmall would have been better) but the dress is beautiful and although there was a small tear at the seam, my mom said she could fix that up no problem. Totally worth the buy, I am so excited and I can't wait to wear it. After shopping at The Bay, we decided to head over to the new Winners on Cambie street, there's also a new Home Depot and Save On Foods too. Unfortunately, Winners/Home Sense was not opened yet which meant grams didn't get the chance to use her gift card instead we decided to check out Home Depot, Canadian Tire and Best Buy. Gosh, it was so hot today! I almost fainted in the heat and it was only a block and half walk. After our shopping, we headed home to rest and refresh ourselves for dinner. My brother arrived and we decided on giving my grams a lucky red envelope instead of a gift card this time cos she's had her Winners gift card for almost 2 years!! Once Auntie Ingrid arrived, we all decided it was time to head over to the restaurant, my brother and I in one car and the rest of them in my mom's car.

Red Star Seafood Restaurant wasn't too bad, they were super busy and packed but we got a nice window table in the corner. See photos for all our lovely dishes.

After dinner, we headed home as we had gram's birthday cake in the fridge, Anna's Cake House birthday cake made with fresh taro root and fresh cream. It was a lovely way to end the night and I think my grams was happy to have us all celebrate it with her. More photos on flickr.

BBQ

Wow! What incredible weather we are having in Vancouver! As high as 30C today! Gosh, it was so hot that I should have worn a bikini and shorts but silly me, I decided on capris and a tank top. Most of the afternoon was spent running around doing our grocery runs as I planned on having a BBQ with a Jas and Kay's friend plus mom and grandma. Last September, I bought a portable (camping) Colemann BBQ on wheels on sale (end of the season) and hadn't tested it out since I got it. One of the reasons, I didn't have a balcony at my old apartment and it rained every time I planned on taking it outside. Then I realized I'm moving home so I might as well wait until I get there and by that time, it was winter :( So imagine how excited I was to use it today, FINALLY!! Superstore's weekly specials were grilling steak at a good price and since I was BBQ'ing, I picked up a bulk pack and what BBQ without, BURGERS! Which I picked up last week and those are sitting in our freezer. Asparagus is great on the grill and those were on sale for $1.88 a bunch! After the grocery runs, I couldn't believe it was almost 6pm! Our afternoon went by fast, I guess it goes by faster when you have a ton of things to do plus you get out of the house late! Jas had already arrived and was waiting when we got home. She had bought cupcakes for us but it had melted cos of the heat but they still tasted good! After getting myself ready for the BBQ, we attached the propane onto the BBQ and it didn't work! I couldn't believe it! No BBQ?!?! Lucky for us, my mom had a tabletop bbq and we had to settle for that :( I'm a little pissed off but will have to figure out why it doesn't work, will have to call the customer service on the instruction booklet to warrantee the BBQ. After cooking the burgers and steaks on the smaller bbq, I decided to blanch the asparagus instead and I served a greek salad on the side. No carbs except for the burger buns, we had quite a bit of meat. My mom inquired about the salmon fillet I picked up at Superstore but told her no way was I using my perfectly good salmon on that little BBQ! I was going to bake it and add it as a side to my herb salad for lunch. After serving my mom and grandma first, then the girls and then me and Jas, I realized there was quite a bit of food. Wished I had taken more photos to show you all the yummy food we had but I was too busy prepping while Jas was kind enough to watch and cook over the BBQ while I prepped. I did take a photo of my greek salad cos I wanted Rhoda to check out this post and see what a REAL GREEK SALAD is ;) I love you babe and your greek salad was good a little ghetto but good ;-) Everyone enjoyed the food and the weather, once we were done, the girls went inside to play Kay's Wii and Jas and I cleaned up the mess. Gosh is it ever a lot of work holding a BBQ even a small one! Once we were done, after bit of a rest and Jas got some time with the guitar hero on the Wii, we all had a cupcake, mmmm those are yummy! A great way to end off a great night with good peeps, good food and a great dessert! Chocolate :)

Home is where the heart & soul are....

Going Home

Today, after work, we (Rhoda, Jess and I) headed over to Canada West Veterinary Specialists & Critical Care Hospital in Vancouver to pick up Ari's ashes and to consolidate the outstanding invoice. I had finally spoken to Dr. Sharp on the telephone earlier about some questions regarding the billing and after speaking to him, I started to cry. I have been trying really hard to think of the happy times we had together but once I spoke to him, all the painful memories of Ari in ICU came flooding back to me. Dr Sharp was, of course, very apologetic for our loss and wished he could have done more. I asked about the test results and he told me to check back in a couple of weeks as the samples went all the way to Britain to the very best lab to find out exactly what happened to little Ari. Rhoda is counting down the days as she has already marked it down on her calendar and will remind me as soon as the month is up. Hopefully, this will be the closure I am looking for so we can look past the last week of his life. Instead celebrate and remember the 8 months we had with him. One final piece is that I need to pick out a fave photo of Ari and order a pet urn from 7 year etch so we can customize it for his final resting place. Once we arrived at the hospital, I nearly broke down again cos it brought back the sad memory, the last time I was here, I said good bye to Ari and I was with him for over an hour, this trip back to the hospital was very hard and devastating. We discussed the invoice with the receptionist and she spoke to the office manager about our MRI courtesy discount. While we were waiting, Dr Sharp was kind enough to stop by and send his thoughts and again apologize for our loss. After settling the invoice, the receptionist handed us a paper bag with Ari's remains in a sealed box and a memorial clay with his name and paw print stamped on it. That was very sweet and I am so happy to have that. I hadn't decided if I wanted to take him home quite yet but after dinner, I realized it would be nice to have him home except that I left him in the trunk of Rhoda's car when she dropped me off. I will try to get the urn ordered by tomorrow so I can have it within the next couple of weeks.

RIP Ari, forever loved and missed......

Pup Shots

This morning, Rhoda forwarded an email with photos of Ari as a pup. The previous owners were kind enough to go through their photos and send them to her. Awww... gosh, I can't believe he ever had an ugly pup face and why would they put him in a tiara and a bow!?!? He's a BOY!!!

As Rhoda wrote in the email:

He is a King indeed....or should I say PRINCE"SS"

Monday Morning

This morning, I came into work with a much better happier attitude cos I figured I couldn't keep coming into work being sad. As I was talking to a friend, Val came up to me with a card. I opened the envelope and inside was the most adorable Hello Kitty card with a small group of signatures and words from my co-workers. Also included with my card was a SPCA contribution card, they all got together and made a donation in memory of Ari. The kindness made me cry, tears of happiness, and I couldn't believe how supportive and thoughtful they were. Val didn't mean to make me cry since I was in much better spirits but I assured her it was tears of happiness and I felt so good that a donation was made in honour of him.

RIP Ari, you will be forever loved and missed.....

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!

To all the momma's out there, wishing you all a very Happy Momma's Day!

This afternoon, I worked on a garden for my mom (a gift to my mom for the day) cos she wanted to start a vegetable/herb garden. We had to dig out an area by the walkway to set up this garden. It was a nice and sunny day which was perfect for working on the garden. I know some people enjoy gardening but I don't think I am one of them cos it was such back breaking hard work! Ohmygosh! So HARD. After an hour or so of digging up the garden, we realized there was a lot more work involved then just digging the hole! There were many rocks and a couple of huge ones to dig out plus we were working with dirt clay (which is not good for gardening), we had to mix the garden dirt clay with all the "good" stuff (soil, manure and fertilizer) my mom had and naturally, they would be in different bags, large heavy bags! I had to mix the good soil dirt around with a rake and let me tell you this whole gardening business is BLOODY HARD!!! After we got the soil ready for planting, we finally did the FUN PART and planted the seeds and seedlings. First time for both of us in planting a vegetable/herb garden so we kinda winged it. Hopefully, it will not turn out to bad. After planting, it was time to clean up the yard and remove all the rocks and grass. Lucky for us, my brother arrived in time to help clean up and help my mom with her peas and pea fence which was a wired fence that we shaped. Plus we needed the strength cos we needed to drive the posts (for the fence) into the ground and he did that part for us. Plus he's a bit anal and wanted everything at the same distance and height, if it was either one of us, we wouldn't have cared. So now it looks a bit nicer that everything is laid out evenly. But the fence against the walkway is a bit ugly, my poor grandma, she is NOT GOING TO LIKE THAT. After all that hard work and clean up, I am really proud of what we accomplished in the afternoon and can't wait to see our garden grow! See photos for my first gardening experience.....

After gardening, it was time to clean up and get ready for dinner. Before heading out for dinner, I had an early (yes very early!) Christmas gift for my brother, I knew he was going on a couple of trips in the next couple of months so I wanted him to have it before Christmas. He loved the gift and was actually thinking about buying a digital camera tomorrow! Saved him a bit of money and bought one for him :) It was a really great sale, $100 off the regular price so I could not pass it up. We headed over to the Curry King on Cambie for dinner and we (me and my brother) could not believe that is what they choose for their Mother's Day dinner! My brother was hoping they would choose Peking Duck cos he really wanted to eat that. Dinner at CK was not that great (and wasn't expected to be so) and I actually came home with a tummy ache! After dinner, we wanted to go for crepes down the block but the cafe was closed early :( Oh well, mom had mango pudding in her kitchen and that is way less calories than crepes and ice cream! Once we got home, we gave them their gifts and both of them really liked the presents! Grandma received some really nice bubble bath (lavender and coconut vanilla) and for mom, I picked out a really pretty top for her cos she needs some new clothes! It was a great night and a lot of fun. Next weekend, we are celebrating grandma's 89th birthday and we are going for Peking Duck!

Saturday Shopping

What a long day! Today, Rhoda and I meet up to do some shopping and an open house in Burnaby (by Coquitlam). It was not a terrible day but a bit cloudy with bits of rain in some parts of the afternoon. I parked my car at her place so we could take one car and we drove out to the open house in Burnaby (Coquitlam border, gosh, we didn't realize how far we had to go!). The house was in reasonably good condition but we didn't like the style or the layout of the house, although the piece of property was HUGE. For $550,000 that isn't too bad, if I bought it, I would tear down the house and build a 4-plex on that piece of property and make some money!! After checking the OP, we decided since we were so close to Coquitlam Centre, we should stop by for a bit before heading over to IKEA and Superstore on Lougheed. I still hadn't been to the H&M in Coquitlam Centre and wanted to see what all the hype was. A bit of a disappointment cos it didn't really impress me that much. Yes, the store was huge and lots of inexpensive trendy items but the store was disorganized and very messy! I can't shop in messy stores and couldn't really find anything that stood out at me except for a very pretty detailed bikini which I purchased for $35! That was a great deal :) After H&M, we checked out Aritzia cos that was newly renovated but I didn't like the items they stocked cos it was targeted to the younger crowd. I decided I needed one more coffee to go before heading over to IKEA or Superstore cos I had a headache from the alcohol from last night. Gosh, it was pretty bad headache cos after many cups of coffee, the headache still wouldn't go away! Jess called Rhoda while I was in Starbucks picking up my 5th or 6th cup of coffee and she wanted to come with us to IKEA and Superstore. Since she had just started to eat her cooked noodles, we stuck around the shopping centre for another 30 minutes while we waited for her to finish up. We did a nice scenic route to IKEA (we entered the wrong exit! don't ask...) and we finally got to IKEA to meet Jess. She had already started shopping without us and we met downstairs where all the little items were stocked. We picked up a few items, I bought a compact retractable dish drainer and a couple of things for my mom. Jess picked up some much needed household items and then it was off to Superstore! I love the Superstore on Lougheed, it is so huge and so much nicer than ours! After our grocery shopping, we realized it was almost 9pm and gosh, was I ever hungry! We decided on Milestones on Lougheed in Burnaby, close by to Jess and Rhoda's and Rhoda still had a Milestones gift card to use up. After dinner, it was time to call it a night and gosh, was I ever tired! It was so much fun hanging out with Rhoda and Jess for the day! I think we should do more grocery shopping together, it's so much fun!

Happy Birthday Karen!

Happy Birthday Karen!

Tonight, we celebrated Karen's birthday, a week early cos Jess won't be here next week to celebrate it with us. Karen made dinner reservations at La Terrazza for 7.30pm in Yaletown and clubbing afterwards. Rhoda and I weren't going clubbing cos we are too old for that and it's Friday night! After a long work week, we are way too tired to club. It was a small group of us as she had more birthday plans next week so tonight for dinner, it was just me, Rhoda, Jess, Karen, Miwa (co-worker of theirs), Jeff (another co-worker) and Tony (one of her closest friends). It was a nice meal and she was really happy to have us celebrate it with her. She ordered shots for the table and her friend, Tony picked out a bottle of red wine but I didn't like the wine too much nor the shots. I was a bit surprised that she wanted to order shots at dinner since she was heading out clubbing afterwards but hey, it's Karen's birthday, she can have whatever she wants! After dinner, we opened presents and she loved all her gifts even the toothpicks, plastic forks and spoons that we picked up for her cos she is always stealing plastic forks and spoons at fast food restaurants! Rhoda and I picked out a pretty pink blinging ring for her and she loved it! Jess and Miwa picked out a pair of flip flops and a dress from Sky Clothing - really hot and sexy! Jeff gave her a pair of shiny black pumps (with the help of Jess) and Tony gave her a bottle of liquor (strong liquor, I can't remember what it's called). It was a fun night and it looks like she had a great time! (More photos on flickr and facebook!)