Chocolat

Melvin and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary this weekend. We typically go on a trip, but we have so many trips we've committed to that we decided to keep it low-key this year. In addition, his company had so many events the day of our anniversary, so it was good to be around for that.


Anyway, we decided to indulge in Fleuri's Chocolate Buffet. It is held every Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, with 2 seatings - 6:30pm and 8:30pm. We went on Friday at 8:30pm after having a picnic dinner with the kids by the seawall. I made some stuffed peppers and pan-fried some wild rockfish. The buffet was pretty insane and we felt pretty bad about ourselves afterward, but whatever. You really can't beat chocolate bread pudding as a dessert.


Yesterday, we had HSBC's annual Latin Diversity BBQ and the spread was pretty impressive. Tomato Salsa, Chickpea Salad, Guacamole, Salad with Homemade Dressing, Grilled Ribs, Steak, Sausages, Corn, Yuca and Watermelon. It was super organized and the weather was spectacular. After the picnic, we got ready to host one of the manager's from the U.K. and another coworker, plus their wives. We had beer/wine at our place and walked over to Hapa Izakaya for a great dinner of Japanese Tapas.


I think me and the kids will hit the beach today, while Melvin's out for a bike ride with his friends. It's so hard to believe that Hurricane Irene is hitting the east coast right now!

Grindin' Grouse

I'm not sure why I keep coming back to him...Grouse Mountain, I mean. He certainly leaves me breathless and when I'm on top, I feel wonderful. 

I attempted the Grouse Grind for the 2nd time today with a friend, fellow mother of two, fellow Filipina with short legs like me. On a serious note, it's a good workout, and you're sweating bullets 1/4 of the way and I've cut my time miraculously and finished it in 1 hour, 12 minutes. 

I just think that when you can feel your heart beating in your ears and you feel light-headed, you got problems. Nevertheless, I finished, am happy with my time and probably won't do it again until next year. I much prefer taking the red gondola up the mountain. :)

Destination: Lynn Canyon Swimming Hole

After a few weeks of atypical summer Saturdays, this morning started off the way it usually does.
- Wake up
- Breakfast
- Load of Laundry
- Leave for Julian's soccer activity while laundry is drying
- Drop Mommy & Amélie at Farmer's Market, while boys go to soccer
- Mommy & Amélie take bus to soccer and load up the cooler in the car 

It's a process and it works. Usually, we'll proceed as a family to wherever we need to be - birthday party, BBQ, whatever. Today, we decided to go to Lynn Canyon Park & Ecology Centre for a hike to its swimming hole. The best part is the park is completely FREE!

Julian was our "hike leader" and he took his job very seriously with map in hand and always making sure he was in front of our pack. It was very cute. Anyway, the hike was well worth it and this is what we arrived to...We ate our baked goods from the West End Farmer's Market and snacked, while dipping our feet. We also watched the crazies jumping in from the cliff above.

Stupid Inventions

...Play-Doh
...Face Painting
...Markers
...Crayons

Bright colors and toddlers just do not mix!!!

Cougar Sightings

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/alice_lk/We're planning to go camping with friends over Labour Day Weekend (my first time, should be VERY interesting) at Alice Lake, which is just north of Squamish. 


Check out the headlines: Hunt for aggressive cougar closes select trails in Alice Lake area

Read more: Click here

LOVELY!

Post-Visitor Blues

J&M left Vancouver for New York today and R&R left on Wednesday....they were our last set of "scheduled" visitors for the remainder of the year, so it was quite sad to see them go. We had such a blast with them though, as did my belly - we ate so much and certainly indulged. Phnom Penh Monday, Afghan Horsemen Tuesday, Cobre Thursday and I finally decided it was time for a home cooked dinner on Friday (sockeye salmon, quinoa salad, grilled chicken breasts and avocado with my favorite B.C. gourmet find, Ají Sauce). Taking people around always reminds us of what a wonderful city we live in now and how it's such a shame we can't share it with friends from back East and family on a regular basis.

J&R totally hooked us up with goodies from the program they were working on. Aside from the free massages, round of golf, bike rentals, canoe rental, cocktails at 21 Steps with my old colleagues, dinner at Quattro, Nitro Ice Cream & a Champagne saber at Bearfoot Bistro, etc. - tons of cereal, popcorn, applesauce, local goodies, a bottle of Grey Goose, about 20 bottles of local beer, 13 bottles of red/white wine. I think I need to have a cocktail party now...

Melvin and Julian brought J&M to the airport this morning and once again, it's back to the grind. Not the Grouse Grind, but the daily grind...We went to Costco right after the airport drop-off, did 3 loads of laundry and then met up with the Brown Family for a 15-mile bike ride through Stanley Park and a homemade picnic dinner at the spray park, while the kids ran through the sprays. It was a beautiful day, despite the departure of our guests from back home.

Whistler Part V

This past weekend marked the 5th time we went up to Whistler. My friends / ex-coworkers were up there since July 28th working on an 850 person incentive. Knowing we lived close by, they decided to fly their husbands up this past Friday, the same day we drove up. We all spent the weekend together and this week we're entertaining each couple separately (one couple went to Tofino while the other started the week with us).

Whister was a BLAST with these guys...first off, my friends got the hook ups on everything after bringing such a big group to Whistler - massages, golf tee times, bike rentals, breakfast, 11 bottles of wine, dinner for 10 and other goodies. Nothing like freebies a la client.

Now, my friends R&R are with us until Wednesday and we're showing them our beloved city. Yesterday, we started with Capilano Suspension Bridge, Granville Island, Happy Hour in Yaletown, Gastown drive by and dinner at Phnom Penh in Chinatown. J&M arrive on Thursday from Tofino and we'll do it all over again gladly when they arrive. These are our last set of "scheduled" visitors this year, so it'll be sad when they leave.

Who will be next!?

Kid Updates and then some...

Kids change so much each month, each week, each day...It's very hard to chronicle everything without feeling you're enjoying the moment....especially when that moment is called "teething".


This summer, Julian has...
* learned how to ride a 2-wheeler!  straight from his Strider to a 2-wheeler. so proud.
* rode the seawall with his mommy for the first time
* started writing his name, over and over and over again, backwards, forwards, upside down...
* discovered a love for art...always taking paper from our printer and taping his art on walls
* started piano lessons (actually I think that was in the spring)
* continued to love his swim and soccer activities


This summer, Amélie has...
* a new molar...tooth #9
* discovered a love for jewelry...she snatched the bangles in H&M and shows them off daily
* showed her love of shoes
* started to climb the stairs in the playground and attempt the slide by herself
* started saying: mama, papa, bye, hello, thank you (we think)
* kept her morning and afternoon naps, despite mommy's attempts to drop her morning nap. Don't get me wrong, I love the down time!


On a completely separate note, Melvin's company announced they will be doing 30,000 layoffs this past Monday. It will be over the span of the next couple years, but of course, we're not protected. Conversation of the month: where should we move to next? Spain, perhaps?

I'm back...

So, people have been encouraging me to keep writing (even if mainly for myself) and I keep coming across things this summer, I want to write about so it just makes sense to keep doing so!

Our one-year anniversary in Canada has come and gone and this summer is vastly different from last. The main reasons for this difference is we know more people and feel like Vancouver has become more our home. It's been so great going to BBQs, festivals with people, birthday parties, etc. At the same token, we are certainly feeling that "all things familiar" (family, NY, bagels, Americans and all their idiosyncrasies, etc) are SO far away. Even though America is just 45 minutes and a border crossing away, Canada and its people are still VERY different!

Since I "closed" the blog, we had the unfortunate incident of the Vancouver Riots over, what else, but The Stanley Cup Final. What do I have to think about that? LAME. The cops here were a sorry bunch...half had the day off and the "reinforcements" sent from the suburbs consisted of two police cars (which we saw racing across Cambie Bridge) 30 minutes after a lot of the fires started. It's been a bit funny hearing of the stories of people getting fired from their jobs, the arrests of spoiled rich kids, etc since then.

NOT TOO FAR FROM OUR APARTMENT!

Fast forward after the riots and we enjoyed a wonderful time at this year's International Jazz Festival, which is held all over the city. The nice part is the final weekend is a huge festival at David Lam Park which is a block from our apartment. We went both days and sat out in the hot sun with friends...The first day, we were out for 6 hours and I got a nasty farmer's tan on my arms...Typical mother: makes sure everyone is lathered up with sunscreen and then slaps some on herself carelessly. I'll be paying for it til the fall, I'm sure.


What else? Hmm, we saw Wicked, the musical.  Absolutely amazing and surprisingly funny. It was our first time at Queen Elizabeth Theatre, which is about a 10 minute walk from our apartment, fairly new and pretty impressive. It was nice to go to a musical without fighting huge crowds, longing for free parking or dealing with massive amounts of tourists. 

The weekend after we watched Wicked, we packed up the kids and went to Kelowna. All I have to say is AMAZING. It was about a 3.5-4 hour drive and Napa North welcomed us. Melvin and I agreed that it was actually more pleasant than Napa though because of this beautiful lake and a number of beaches that were accessible. Also, it was less commercialized and touristy...residents were abound with their local produce stands on the road, family vineyards and wine shops. We hope to go back again soon.

July's weather has been a disappointment on most days. It's been warm but quite grey. August seems to be making up for it though and I don't think I prefer to be in the East Coast's stifling heat either. At least we are able to go outside in comfort....If most of the year weren't so grey and rainy here though, we have to admit that it's the perfect climate to live in.

This is quite a long blog post, so I'll save more for later, especially all kid updates. We also have more visitors in town next week, so more fun in the sun (I hope) is to be had!


It feels great to be back :)

Announcement

...no I'm not preggers!  HAHA

Actually, I was referring to the announcement that was made on my United Airlines flight on Friday night. Hello Ladies & Gentleman, we don't know who your pilot will be, where they are or when they will get here, but sit tight and we hope to have an update shortly. We cannot let you off the plane because this is an international flight and all your documents have already been checked.

Isn't this the most ridiculously thing you've ever heard? Long story short, we waited on the plane in San Francisco for 2 hours before we took off for the 1 hour, 45 minute flight to Vancouver and I got home close to 2:00am. Ahh, life on the road. I filed a complaint the next morning and should be hearing back within 10 days, according to United's automated system. They SUCK!

Yesterday, we went to Grouse Mountain for the lumberjack show and to Eat! Vancouver (food & cooking festival) at the new convention centre. I had major déjà vu because I clearly remembered blogging about this event last year before we moved. I had lamented that we missed out on it and that we'll have to go "next year"...that being this weekend. I can't believe how time had flown. It's actually a bit scary.

With that said, the real "announcement" is that I reflected on life a lot this past week and I've decided to bring this blog to a close...Our "relocation process and experience" is technically over and now this is our home. We just signed a 2-year lease on our apartment, so we'll be here for awhile and hope to paint a bit. This summer, we have plans to take a paddle surfing lesson, explore more of B.C. (fingers crossed that includes Kelowna and Tofino) and of course, will be welcoming more visitors to show our city to. 

Now that we've come to this time in our "experience", where we've got a daily routine, know people, have a pretty full schedule, etc., I believe it is time to enjoy and savor the moments, rather than spend it documenting, journaling and hoping we won't and don't forget it. It's like having a baby, right? A lot of mothers worry so much about writing down what time that baby pooped, slept and ate that the entire experience just passes by. Or, it's like being on vacation and trying to capture every step, sight and moment on camera. You just can't...so why not just savor it?

That being said, we're off to a BBQ in East Vancouver and to enjoy the sun! As always, thanks for reading. Until next time...

Kimpton

I'm experiencing my first time at a Kimpton Hotel. So far so good...I arrived San Francisco at 8:00am this morning and my room was ready after my breakfast at Grand Cafe. It's a boutique hotel, which I really like because when you're in and out hotels often, you can only take so much of a Marriott or Hilton. The hotel hosted us for a lunch "meeting" and who can beat a lobster club sandwich and truffle fries? After lunch, I went back to my suite and received a bottle of red wine as an amenity...They really know how to win me over!



So Kimpton actually started the whole "afternoon reception or gathering in the lobby". Apparently this was something Mr. Kimpton liked to do, so alas, a tradition was started. Whoever started it, it's a great idea. Unlimited wines (and good ones), snacks, massage chair??  Goodness.

I'm hanging out in my room before my dinner event begins. Tomorrow, I have an early breakfast and meeting start time of 6:30am and won't arrive in Vancouver until 11:00pm, so best enjoy my night. Ahh, life on the road.

I'll be nice and bring the bottle of wine home to share with Melvin.

Go Canucks Go!

Go Canucks Go...This is the very sad "chant" that Vancouver has created for their precious Canucks Hockey Team. You would think they could be a little more creative. Anyway, we went out to dinner with our friends on Saturday night during the 2nd Stanley Cup Playoffs game and got ridiculed for not wearing blue. The Canucks won that night and Vancouverites, as well as "bridge & tunnel" (or should I say, bridge and ferry) people, proceeded to celebrate as if they won the Stanley Cup. It was fun to watch and listen to, but not at 4am when people were still honking their car horns.

They were silenced very quickly this week by Boston...Monday's game was 8-1 Boston and tonight's game was 4-0 Boston. I'm not a hockey fan, but I'm rather embarrassed for Vancouver; I even feel pretty bad for the fans.

I guess we'll see how Friday's Game 5 turns out. Too bad I won't be here...I'll be in San Francisco for a work program. My flight is bright and early at 6:00am tomorrow, so I better get packing.

More Visitors

A day and half after returning from our cruise, our dear friends Erica & Jim came out to visit us. They did a combo Seattle/Vancouver trip, so I picked them up from the train station on Thursday and they stayed until Sunday morning. It's been quite a whirlwind of making sure there are clean sheets, clean towels and Aerobeds with enough air the past few weeks, but it has been fun.

We had a great weekend, as we welcomed Vancouver's first official summery days and it was hot. We checked out Granville Island's Children's Festival, Capilano Suspension Bridge (again) and Grouse Mountain, whose resident Grizzly Bears are out and about. Melvin overcame the Grouse Grind with Jim, while still officially closed (twice this season), so he's becoming an expert. We were also lucky enough to take an awesome boat ride out of Horseshoe Bay on Saturday. We closed the weekend with dinner at Hapa Izakaya (pleasantly surprised by the food). I discovered Hapa Izakaya makes their own chocolate banana crepe mille feuille, so of course I was in heaven and will surely be returning specifically for that!

As with every restaurant/bar in Vancouver Saturday night, the 2nd Stanley Cup playoff game was being shown. Crazy Canucks fans everywhere, probably wondering why we weren't as excited as they were each time someone scored....

So Jim & Erica left early this morning and we attended a 1st birthday party for Julian and Amelie's friend, Gavin. He spent some time in BC Children's Hospital's NICU after his birth, so in place of a traditional birthday party, we did the Kids Fun Run to help raise money for the hospital. Team Gavin raised over $6,000 CAD.

Needless to say, we are exhausted! I can't believe I'm saying this, but I welcome the daily grind and routine...and the diet starts tomorrow! The Aerobeds will take a break until end of July when our next set of visitors arrive :)

Cruisin'

We returned from our Alaskan cruise yesterday...much heavier in weight, but fully enjoyed vacation mode. It's always hard coming back to the daily grind, no matter what it is...It was wonderful seeing our family and showing them Vancouver, before we embarked the Disney Wonder for Alaska.

What did I think of Disney Cruise Line? Well, I am generally not a fan of Disney and my kids will not be going to Disney World until they are both over 4, can remember the trip, and are not napping. However, I highly recommend the cruise experience for parents! You can drop the kids off at the kids club all day, any day, while you go off to the gym, spa, a wine tasting, game of family feud or to simply stand on the deck and look for whales as the Alaskan coastline passes by. The food is not marvelous, but it's better than good and there's always a lot of it. Plus, Disney is the only cruise line that is BYOB. Cruising is definitely not for everyone though, so always something to bear in mind. My sister and her fiance, while childless, had a good time with their excursions and port of calls, so all were happy. Conclusion: we would cruise with Disney again.

Another interesting fact is that Alaska is really popular for their wholesale jewelry, just like in the Caribbean. Many of the vendors spend 5 months in Alaska and the rest in St. Thomas, St. Maarten or wherever else in the Caribbean...Who would've known?  So what did we do in Ketchikan, you ask? My sister scored a beautiful wedding band and I got Amelie some bling - her first pair of diamond earrings...of course, my daughter's birthstone is diamond.

Countdown

We've been eagerly awaiting my family's arrival on Friday and Julian's counting down the days his auntie brings him his first pair of skates (that's what he's been asking for).  As much as I try to clean our apartment, it  just gets messed up again pretty quickly, so Melvin told me to give it up and just clean Friday. Ugh. Good news is that the sun is out and it was actually hot today, well, at least warm enough for me to spend 2 hours at the playground with the kids.

We're also counting down the days 'til our Alaskan Cruise on the Disney Wonder, which leaves from Vancouver. A week from today, we should be making our way towards Tracy Arm Fjord, as I sit on the deck, enjoying some grilled salmon and halibut... It is SO wrong that my sister is going to make me try on Matron of Honor dresses the DAY that we disembark.

QE Park & Deep Cove

Almost a year here and we got to visit two new places this weekend.

Queen Elizabeth Park - who would've know that such a gorgeous place was so close to our apartment. We had no idea that about 10 minutes drive away is a park with beautiful gardens, a plant/bird conservatory and the most amazing view of the city skyline and mountains in the backdrop. We'll be sure to take our visitors here.

Deep Cove, B.C. - About 25 minutes north of us lies Deep Cove, B.C. The view is outstanding and this appears to be THE place to go kayaking. In fact, the rental place there offers Full Moon Tours during the summer, where you go out at midnight and they discuss how the full moon effects the water and wildlife there. There are also a ton of hiking trails going up to the cliffs overlooking Indian Arm. Good stuff and Honey Doughnuts & Goodies alone is well worth the "long" drive.

Yes, I noticed that after having lived here, I think that a 20-minute drive is long. We used to think Vancouverites were totally weird for thinking a 15-minute drive was "far". I really hate that I feel this way because when I go back to NY for a visit, I feel like I'm going to go nuts in the car. Oh well, will deal with that next year...

Under the Weather

It's been a long-ish week, which is why I haven't really blogged.  The kids (and now Melvin and I) are fighting a bit of a cold. We also got an insane amount of rain this week, talk about April showers in May. Also, my family's highly anticipated visit is coming up on Friday (my sis, her fiance, cousin, her husband & baby, aunt & uncle). What does that mean?

8 adults + 3 kids in one apartment

Needless to say, it should be interesting...but FUN! I'm trying to stock up the freezer and fridge, as always, and we've been dreading the cleaning that needs to happen before they arrive. Time to whip out the Aerobeds! I also got called to substitute for a 90-minute Yin Yoga class this afternoon. I've only ever just taught a 60 minute class, so I'm really nervous. Luckily, postures are held for 3-7 minutes and will be making sure I put a cheat sheet under my mat!

We checked out an amazing veggie restaurant last night called The Naam.  It's a Vancouver institution and it was awesome...even Melvin (veggie hater until he met me) really liked it. The line was out the door, surprisingly, and we quickly learned why it was open 24/7.  Good stuff.

Rainy Day

In our (almost) year here, I think I've seen the most umbrellas open today. Today was a complete wash....not to mention that our elevator was being repaired for 5 hours, which forced us to not go outside today. Also, the first day we haven't taken at least a short walk outside all year. Needless to say, the kids were bouncing off the walls.  A little glimpse of my day?

* 1 broken baseboard heater

* a little push here, a big push there

* both kids standing on top of the train table, with kids chair, with baby stroller, tape streamed across all items (according to Julian, they were setting up for a party)

* lots of Sesame Street, Curious George, and Thomas

* kids unfolding laundry I just folded

There was only one thing that could make me feel better today....Indian food for dinner. Nothing a little Dal Turka and Aloo Gobi couldn't fix...

Tea Party

A couple of weeks ago, I received an invitation in the mail to attend a Mother's Day Tea Party at Julian's school.  What a treat I had today! I think Julian's Nana would've really loved it if she were around, as well.

In addition to the tea sandwiches, pound cake and black tea, served on fine china....the kids took turns saying what they love about their moms.  Apparently, Julian likes singing with his tone-deaf mom (who would've thought). We also had the pleasure of watching a video of all the kids in class AND best of all, they sang "Just the Way You Are" by Bruno Mars.

Um, yeah I was crying...

Bin Laden dead means...

...MASSIVE headaches at the airport!

I definitely do not miss doing this almost every week. I just want to get home!!


On another note, I'm really proud of Melvin for spending his first full weekend and 2 nights alone with the children! He was quite the overachiever, I must say...The kids and him went to check out the Vancouver Marathon festivities, went to a playgroup and even went to supermarket together, which I know is a huge task!  The apartment better be clean when I get home!! (j/k)