Grouse Grind

58 M 55 S

Happy (early) Birthday Lunch

Thank you RaeRae for an early birthday lunch! We headed over to Tropika cos they have some good lunch specials plus I really like Lunch Combo C =) (white rice with curry beef, sambal egg and indonesian spring roll - yummy!). We celebrated early cos Rae is going on a trip to San Fran, she flies out tomorrow and won't back in the office until Monday, August 10. It was nice to finally have lunch cos we have been meaning to do this for a while but both have been busy. We caught up on each other's lives and what was going on. It was really nice! I don't see Rae as much any more cos she is on the 14th floor =( After lunch, we headed over to the Gap cos I had a 30% off coupon and I wanted to pick up some tank tops for this heat! Plus my fave tank top (Old Navy) is getting worn out and it needs to be replaced (well I don't know if I can get rid of it cos it's my FAVE!!) and I manage to get 2 solid colour tank tops for $17.50 (with the discount!). Nice! I think I will have to go over to Old Navy after the GG and before I head over to Rhoda's to see if I can find anything there as well. I'm happy to say the weather has finally cooled down a bit and hopefully it will not be too hot during the afternoon for Jes & B's wedding! Wow, only 1 more sleep!

Rehearsal and Dinner at Kits Beach

Tonite, the wedding party met at the commissioner's house to hold a "rehearsal" altho it wasn't a rehearsal, it was more like a questions and answer session. The commissioner basically did a run down of how she would proceed with the ceremony and she made it very clear that she did not want to discuss anything about the wedding that did not involve her. I hope without a real rehearsal that it's going to go well. But I guess it shouldn't be too hard to walk down an aisle, say your vows and I dos and sign some paperwork! After the meeting, we walked over to Kits beach for dinner at the closest restaurant to us, the Watermark, to discuss and finalize the details for the wedding. There were some misunderstandings, some more complaints and a whole lot of stressing, well Rhoda was more pissed off than stressed due to B's complaints and demands. But I think everything will work out and if it doesn't go as timely sloted or planned, it's a wedding! No stress, enjoy the day and it's not her wedding, it's Jess and B's day so if they aren't too stressed about it, well neither should she! Can't wait for this wedding to be done with so Rhoda can finally take a break!

Record Breaking!

33.8C but with humidity it's at 38C!!! Record breaking!! 22C overnight...... that is WRONG... another sleepless night....

Grouse Grind

1 H 7 M 41 S

in this sweltering heat which isn't terrible but sucks to be over an hour! But we probably shouldn't have gone (altho the trail was nice and quiet) due to the warning, an air quality advisory! Oops!

BCBG

I picked up the most beautiful dress at BCBG today! I am very lucky to have found a dress in my size and in my fave colour (not the wedding colours but close) and only for $116! It is such a beautiful dress that I think I will even wear it at my birthday dinner! Luckily or unluckily, I had to buy a new dress for Jes's wedding cos BJ dress I originally bought for this day, I could not get into. At first, I thought I had about 1/2" room and if that was the case well I could pick up a girdle and cram myself into the dress. But to my surprise (not), I was about 1 1/2" off from buttoning that dress! I couldn't believe it, I am so disappointed and upset that I cannot wear this dress. But I have a new goal, I will wear it when HonHon comes next month and he takes me out for my birthday dinner. I have a few weeks to lose 1 1/2 " off the hips/waist. Love the dress esp the couture bow in the back, apparently it is suppose to be lopsided! Can't wait to wear it!

Super Sunday

Wow, what a day! First off, it was another super hot day in Vancity, sweltering melting hot! (Rumor has it, weather record breaking beginning on Monday, oh no!) I helped Rhoda clean the top floor of her house cos she has a bunch of out of town guests arriving this week for Jess's wedding. I can't believe she's getting married in a matter of days!! It is so exciting! Gosh, the top floor of the house was so hot but we managed with all the windows opened and the huge fan (thank you auntie for pulling that one out!) blowing in our face. After re-organizing all their stuff, Rhoda finished off the rest while I helped Jes with her chandelier project. She arrived home after we had started the 2nd room and was measuring out her jewels for her chandelier with the help of her mom. Originally, she received a quote on a custom chandelier for her wedding receptions and it was going to cost $2500!! To save some money, she had another company (in the US) to custom make the frame and ordered the jewels from Asia in bulk which ended up only costing her $650!! It was a lot of work which consisted of measuring and cutting the jewels off the roll, by the end of the night we had finished her 6 rolls of jewels. She didn't have her glue gun to glue them onto the frame but when she does, it's going to look gorgeous! After a long day and night, I headed home around 10pm and when I got home, my mom told my brother (he came by for a visit) and I something unexpected but expected (grams let the secret out of the bag to me a couple of weeks ago). My mom had an emergency a couple of months ago and it seems that it's not over yet. She went for a follow up and it seems that she has a few health issues, one is shingles (which she is taking meds for and will subdue it), a kidney stone in her left kidney that needs to be removed, a tumor or water bubble in her right kidney (going for more testing) and a "seed" in her intestine which the doctors are not quite sure what it is (also going for more testing). It's pretty scary but it does not seem life threatening which is a great relief. My mom was a bit disappointed that my grams couldn't keep the secret but my poor grams was sooo worried about my mom these past couple of weeks of course she had to tell someone! I'm sure my mom will be fine, we are all keeping a close eye on her.

Lust, Caution

FINALLY! I've watched this movie, Lust, Caution. I have been meaning to watch it for so long but never had the time to. I really enjoyed the storyline and it was not at all that pornographic as some people have said. It's a very intriguing movie with some amazing and talented actors. A really great movie to catch.

Summer's Thunderstorm

WOW, what a nite! Late in the afternoon, the clouds started to roll in and around 5pm, we heard thunder and watched the sky light up with the most amazing lightning show! For most of the evening, we had warm showers and such incredible thunderstorms, quite relaxing actually. It was still very warm and it was so nice to get some rain but I'm sure people watching the fireworks were not too happy to see the weather change so drastically! Kay headed out in the middle of one of the many thunderstorms but I'm sure she'll be fine. Even tho I did not take any photos with my own camera, a co worker of mine did manage a few cool shots.

Super Hot Saturday!

Ohmygosh, it is SO HOT. I can't believe it's 26C but feels like 30!! Kay and I walked down to the Farmers' Market at Trout Lake for some fresh local produce. I picked up 10 lbs of blueberries from Beckmann Berry Farm, these blueberries are award winning! The berries were HUGE and there was a long line up for them, I'm sure it's worth it. We also picked up some more romaine lettuce, yukon gold potatoes, apricots, strawberries, spring onions and we could not leave the market without a Blackberry Hill's cinnamon bun - those are the best in the market. I also decided to pick up a membership at the Vancouver Farmers' Market cos as a member you get some benefits plus it's supporting something local and close to home. After picking up our items, we started our journey home, it seemed like a very long walk back esp carrying 10 lbs of blueberries! But once we arrived home, it was time to make up a Ceasar sald (with homemade dressing) and drink some ice cold water. It was so hot that all I wanted to do was sit on the couch and read. Kay is heading out for the nite so it is going to be nice to have the entire suite to myself!

Happy Perforated Paper Day!

Tonite, we celebrated Perforated Paper Day instead of Val's birthday! Hehehe, she did not want to make a big fuss about her birthday so even tho we gathered for dinner at Lao Shan Dong Noodle House by Metrotown to celebrate, we cheered Perforated Paper. Before heading over to the restaurant, I had some time and wanted to pick up something at Metrotown. I had an Element Eden summer dress on hold at Below the Belt and lucky for me it was on sale! Reg $50 to $39.99 =) But like the dress in BTB on Robson (which was NOT on sale), a button is missing so I'm gonna have to jack one from the Robson BTB. After picking up my dress and walking thru the mall, it was time to head over to the restaurant and I decided to walk over instead of driving 2 blocks and looking for parking cos it is across the street from HBC. This restaurant is so small and always so busy (esp dinner time) but thankfully, the food gets out quickly so the turnaround rate for tables are within 20 minutes. I think this place serves the best Taiwanese soup noodles! Mmmm.... yummy! After dinner, all of us headed over to Val's house for drinks cos she needed to be at home in case her mom needed her (she just had a minor operation and could not be on her feet). It was really nice catching up with her and friends but I had to leave around 10 to pick up Kay at Tashna's house. It was a such a fun and entertaining evening plus they are sooo funny!!

Main Street Farmer's Market

After work and summer school, Kay and I headed over to the Main Street farmer's market to check out the vendors and local items/produce we could pick up. Gosh, it is a super hot (and sticky) afternoon and both of us were feeling pretty tired after walking from Stadium station to The Boss on Main street for a snack and an iced tea. Kay usually needs a snack after school cos she doesn't eat during her 3 hours in class. After our snack, we walked over to the market and gosh, there were some great vendors! We picked up some bacon from Gelderman Farms - veggie diet, no animal meat by products, no antibiotics, no growth hormones and freedom to run with full natural lighting. I can't wait to taste this bacon! We picked up some organic corn (the last bit of the crop), some blueberries and raspberries, some sablefish from Fresh off the Boat and Szechuan Chili Sauce from Thai Princess. I did a quick stop at the market booth (next market, I'm going to purchase a membership) and picked up Carebags to reduce my carbon footprint! I have been meaning to make my own reuseable veggie bags for grocery shopping but I am talentless on the sewing machine! After our shopping, we headed home cos Kay was going to meet Tash so she had to do some homework and get out of her sticky clothes. I can't wait to taste the sweet organic corn!

Happy Birthday Diana! (and GG)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DIANA!

Gosh, what a way to celebrate your birthday .... hiking up the Grouse Grind! Yikes! But she really wanted to do it and what a super hot day for it! I can usually finish the GG in under 60 mins but today, I was having some difficulty cos it was so hot and twice I almost slipped! FInished in 1 h 2 m 47 s - not too please but at least I didn't pass out on the trail which I thought I would. After the GG, we surprised Diana by taking her over to Debbie's (Charly's mom) cos she made a grand feast for the occasion, ohmy so much food! Debbie is so sweet and thoughtful, cooking all that food for us and making separate items for me cos Charly told her I was on a no fat or oil diet. Everything was so delicious and I loved the white fish she steamed for me! Super yummy! After dinner, we surprised her again with a birthday cake that I picked up from Saint Germain Bakery at Metro last nite. It was a really great nite with great conversations! It was so nice to meet Diana and one day (maybe next year), I will visit her (and Ivan) in Mexico!

Wedding Do-it-yourself & Dinner with Highschool Friend

This afternoon around 2pm, Jes came by to pick me up so we could finish the project we started last nite. On her way to pick me up, she picked up a couple of viet subs from Ba Le Sandwich Shop on Kingsway (close to Fraser) cos they have the best viet subs in Vancouver - oh my super yummy, haven't had one of these in a long time! We decided to eat our subs before starting on the project and good thing cos it took us 4 hours to complete the project. It was completely finished but we got most of it done, all that is left to do is to decorate the top of the box. Rhoda and I had dinner plans around 7pm with an old highschool friend whom I haven't seen in 10 years. Raymond arrived back in Vancouver earlier in the year with his new wife, he left for Hong Kong years ago and decided (once he got married) to raise his family in Vancouver. We had a great time catcing up on life in general and it was so nice to meet his shy wife. We will try to do dinner or dessert more often cos good friends are hard to come by esp ones you've known since highschool!

IKEA - Furniture Assembly

After Taste of the City, I rested a bit at home and caught up on some chores before heading over to Rhoda's place. I was to help her with furniture shopping at IKEA but I didn't get home until after 5pm so she headed over there with her mom first. After resting and some salad for dinner, I went over there to help her put together the futon she picked up for the out of town guests staying at their house for Jes's upcoming wedding. Wow, I can't believe how fast the time has gone by, her wedding is in 2 weeks! Rhoda and I assembled the futon with some difficulty (hate IKEA tools!) but we figured it out and finished it right before Jes arrived. Jes had a money box project and I helped her put together the box (she picked up from Daiso) and applied the material for the cover, she had some samples for the wedding decorations. She is going to apply some crystals along the side of the box and flowers/feathers to decorate the top of the box but we didn't get that far cos she ran out of glue for her glue gun. As I was working on the box, there were some discussions about seating arrangements at the Kirin reception, it was getting a bit stressful and tense but in the end it was figured out. While discussing other items for the wedding, Jes decided we should go for dessert at Honey Dessert House cos we were all getting a bit hungry by this hour (1am!). This place opens late and after some dessert and dumplings, it was time to call it a nite cos it was 2am!

CityTv's Taste of the City

This afternoon, for a late lunch, we headed over to CityTv's Taste of the City at the PNE. First, we picked up Laurie and Tashna at Nanaimo Skytrain (the electricity in their building was out and Laurie couldn't get the car out of the garage!) and then drove over to the PNE. Lucky for us we had free parking cos Laurie's cousin lived close by so we parked at their place and walked over. We wanted to check out the PNE Prize Home but we were hungry so we headed over to the food stands first. It was super hot afternoon and I realized I probably shouldn't have worn a tank top cos I'll get an allergic sun reaction and most likely touch people who are wearing a ton of sunscreen!! Our first stop was to the ticket booth to buy some tickets so we could sample all the goodies. We grabbed a couple of items from Saltik first cos the stand had the smallest line up and we were starving! I really wanted the tandoori chicken at Handi Cuisine of India and even though the line up was crazy long, it was def worth the wait! While we were waiting, Kay and Tash picked up a yakitori from Zakkushi - gosh, it was sooo good and def a must visit, there are 3 restaurants, one on Main, on 4th and on Denman street. After the tandoori chicken, we grabbed a samosa at another indian stand and picked up a couple of mango lemonades at yet another stand but those 2 stands were not as busy as Handi and I could see why, the food / drinks were meh.... I decided it was time for dessert and grabbed a couple of chocolate pieces from hmm...I can't remember the name of the restaurant but the chocolate dessert was good! Even though we were full after all the tasting, we still had a few tickets left so to use them up, I picked up a wild salmon cone at Sushi Zero One and it was pretty yummy altho you can never go wrong with wild salmon sashimi. Mmmm... this sushi restaurant is located in downtown, right by my office so I will have to try it for lunch one of these days. We didn't get a chance to see the prize home cos it was closed at 4 and we were too late. Oh well, maybe I'll see it if I go to the PNE this summer. It was a great afternoon and so nice to catch up with Laurie since I hadn't seen her in awhile.

Grouse Grind

59 M 25 S

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

My dad turned 69 this year, wow I can't believe he's celebrating a "dai" birthday next year! This year, we (my brother and I) wanted to buy him a new 32" LCD TV for his birthday but the Samsung we wanted to buy was sold out cos it was on sale at a really good price. But then, we realized neither one of us could really afford it so it was decided that next year we would buy it for his "dai" birthday and something this extravagant would be nice cos he doesn't want us to throw him a big party. My brother was suppose to order and pick up a fresh mango birthday cake but I couldn't remember the name of the bakery that my dad liked nor could I find it on google. I ended up with a fresh strawberry napoleon cake at Harvest Moon Bakery which is closely located to the Wheat Garden Bakery (which I know now) on Westminster Highway. Daddy made dinner reservations for 7pm at this place we've been to a few times on Alexandra Road (can't remember the name of the restaurant). The dishes are tasty, the lobster was super delish and at a pretty good price! After dinner, we headed home with lots of leftovers for cake and present. We didn't realize the lady had bought a birthday cake for daddy too so he had 2 birthday cakes! Daddy really liked the Sony digital photo frame (he likes anything Sony or electronic) we gave him (I guess I will get one for myself the next time it's on sale) and hopefully, he will use it! He's going on an Alaskan cruise next month so I'm sure he'll have tons of photos to display =)

Company BBQ Picnic & Sunday Dinner

Our division held a summer BBQ picnic this afternoon and I assume we will have one every summer! Poor Val, every year she will have to go thru the stress of throwing a BBQ for 100 people. A few of us pitched in to help with the picnic but Val and her hubby did most of the work, there was a lot of stress and tiredness endured. My small bit was to pick up the onions and tomatoes and slice and dice them for the burgers. I also picked up the drinks from Costco and gosh, my poor little VW bug, it was so heavy in the trunk, it felt like it weighed the car down and my poor car was chugging away. This year the picnic was held at 2nd beach in Stanley Park and it is a really pretty spot to throw a BBQ. There was a rooftop over the picnic tables and we were close to the beach, the pool and children's playground. We had a beautiful view of the beach and ocean, it was lovely! The picnic area wasn't as spacious as last year which is nice in a way cos we all had to mingle and talk to each other. Last year, there was too much food and drinks and of course, this year was the same but the water can be kept for next year. There were 2 boxes of burgers left, one of which Rhoda and I took to share and another took home for their family. Altho, I brought my camera, I didn't get a chance to take any photos cos I was too busy helping out with the BBQ'ing and making sure everyone was fed. Phew, lots of work but def had a blast! Many thank yous' to Val and our VP for holding this for us!

After the BBQ, I rested at home for a bit cos I was super tired from the BBQ and in a couple of hours I was to meet with Jas, Vince, Meryl and Shel for a dinner in Richmond. Vince and Meryl wanted to meet up cos we all hadn't seen each other as a group in a while and they wanted to take us to a recently discovered spicy chinese restaurant in Richmond. We all met at Shel's house cos he was centred and we all went in one car to Richmond. The restaurant was hidden away from No. 3 road but it can def stay hidden cos the food was not at all good! Gosh, those 2 have the strange taste buds!! After dinner, we decided to have BBT for dessert and drove over to Tapioca Express cos they have yummy boba! Too bad Kay didn't come, she loves BBT =)

Pop Opera

Tonite was Jes's stagette and a friend of theirs booked a VIP table at Pop Opera. The club has nice interiors and it's cool that there are 2 rooms (smaller room had it's own bar and played different type of music). Altho we chose to stay in the main area cos it was hip hop and top 40 plus the VIP table was more spacious. The stag theme was Jes' wedding colours: white and purple. I realized I didn't own anything in a solid purple but I had a Baby Phat top with purple in it. I had a good time and enjoyed the company even tho I didn't drink at all or hit the dance floor often cos the club scene isn't my thing and I had an early morning the following day. It was also great to see Jes a bit buzzed which is priceless! (Don't have any photos cos I didn't bring my camera but will post some when I get them from Rhoda).