49th Parallel has these scrumptious Halloween Special donuts, stuffed with pumpkin puree, with a pumpkin glaze and chocolate icing. The stem… IS AN ALMOND!!!! Creativity a its best. Coffee, as always, was on par. Might not be too late yet to get one today.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN.

Still working on this same book, which is really making me doubt my choices and decisions.

Steps to a successful hike:

1. Hearty breakfast of fats and sugars:

Chicken Omelette, French Toast, Milk Tea for caffeine

Satay Beef with Instant Noodle (+$0.50 only to switch nooodle), Milk Tea for size

Two of these meals cost $15, INCLUDING TAX. You pay for what you get, but the food wasn’t disgusting, and everything was fairly clean, RECOMMEND FO SHO.

2. Pick up your friend from the hood, who doesn’t hike, and tell her it’s quick and easy, omitting to mention the time advised from the Interweb.

3. Discover colours amid the grey that is Vancouver:

4. LOST. Went around in a loop for a good 30 minutes.

5. Discover a beautiful sunset before getting back to the car: 

I’d do this again, but maybe with runners instead of rain boots.

More info on this trail here:

https://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/burnaby-lake/

http://vancouverhiatus.com/hiking/burnaby-lake.html

https://www.burnaby.ca/Things-To-Do/Explore-Outdoors/Nature-Trails-And-Walks.html

The weekend is coming to an end, and I’m still thinking about my options right now. What do I want to take on next? Is school really a good idea, or should I just keep on cruising along for the rest of this year? I hear that 30’s will be some of the best years, and I’m almost there. Everything seems like it’s already decided though, especially with a mortgage to take on just before I hit 30. Hustle harder, enjoy the process, and just be patient, I suppose I’ll get there eventually.

As Snoop Dogg said to Martha Stewart and Ellen Degeneres – “TO SUCCESS AND NOTHING LESS” (2:40)

Last day of the market went smoothly. Yolk’s was on site, so I had one last eggs bennie with the portobello mushrooms and roast garlic potatos. Spicy ketchup, goat cheese. YUM. (GO HERE FOR PREVIOUS POST ABOUT YOLK’S AT THE MARKET).

These guys were here too, and I hear they’re really yummy, but I never get a chance to go because the line is depressing:

Then, I found this:

Apparently they’re popping up everywhere in the Lower Mainland, and they’re beyond deadly. Don’t go picking them up from the side of the street and stuffing your face.

What am I going to do with my spare time?

Breakfast is what I go to sleep for. French croissants, Chinese donut, Shanghai sticky rice and soy milk, Japanese nato beans, German schnitzels, English style baked beans, – doesn’t matter, I don’t discriminate. HK STYLE TODAY AT CAFE LOYAL:

Fried noodles, soy sauce rice roll, fish congee with ginger, milk tea - all for under $10!!! The fish congee had really big pieces of ginger which was great because the gnger taste was really fresh and strong. Milk tea could’ve been stronger - I couldn’t taste tea it tasted like milk with a bit of sugar. Not too oily.

Great way to start the day. I love this arrangement that H and I have when he’s on night shifts, where he picks me up or I pick him up from work to go home. Carpooling to save the world.

Shanghai food, and also, national dessert day celebration.

It was salty, but otherwise not bad. Best part was the free xiao long bao that comes with any orders over $40.00USD.

Farmer’s Market was canceled this week due to above mentioned storm. The rest of this weekend will be me staring out my window at the wind blowing apart the trees, while drinking coffee and reading. I told myself I wouldn’t waste money on buying books anymore, but it was so hard to resist! Picked up Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman:

1. Coffee:

Visited Culprit coffee for the first time. Cozy, bright, and a lovely place to focus on your work. Read a couple pages, and decided to use my caffeine high to go shopping.

2. Books. They keep me calm sometimes. This one is pretty funny! Primates of Park Avenue by Wednesday Martin, focuses on the wives of the rich and privileged in New York. Not sure if this is what’s stressing me out these days – I am so influenced by how these women shop, eat, work out, and just act in general.

3. H putting up with me.

4. Friends and family.

5. Generally healthy. Other than stress.

‘Nuff said.

1. Eating too much. For example, last Saturday from the Yolk’s food truck, I had the following pile of poached eggs, goat cheese, garlic potatoes, and portabello mushrooms with spicy ketchup:

But also eating too little.

2. Not being able to hike anymore/not having people to hike with. P&M were kind enough to take me, so I 3rd wheeled to Dog Mountain:

Cute Couple Award – P&M

Easy hike except for the mud. I'd go again because it's close by and quick. 

3. Being left behind in general… Huge FOMO, like when one of my high school friends get married and I'm not invited... Guess I wasn't a good enough friend... WHAT COULD I HAVE DONE?! Should I have said that or not said this? 

4. Security. My car got broken into today and nothing was taken (I think…), except my sense of safety in my neighborhood. I’ve never believed this neighborhood to be very safe, but it’s really disappointing that this happened. At least nothing was damaged.

5. Money. I can always use more…

This post is inspired by: http://elitedaily.com/wellness/signs-under-more-stress-realize
I don't want to go out, I'm constantly drowsy because sleep eludes me, my jaw was hurting from grinding at night for a while, and I am losing interest in general activities... Or maybe I'm just overanalyzing. WHO KNOWS. Just suck it up and move along... There are worse things that could happen than not being invited or missing a hike or gaining/losing a bit of weight or not closing that deal.

Also had a strong coffee today that left me jittery, so I won't be sleeping for a while tonight! Woo!

After a full blown argument with H, I thought dessert would be a good idea after Wang’s Shanghai Food, to sweeten the relationship. P was with us too, and Off the Grid Waffles was on her list of places to try:

We ordered the Banana + Nutella (top) and the Tiramisu with ice cream (bottom), and a tea ($3, but refillable. They just pour hot water into the same tea bag). The waffles were really good! I loved the flavour and texture - crispy outside, fluffy inside. Highly recommend the Tiramisu.



There was something off about the restaurant though… lighting seems a bit off, or maybe it was just the rain.

This weather is really driving me crazy. Poor guy is doing a half decent job of putting up with my moodiness, but he really does rub me the wrong way sometimes. Thank goodness I have such understanding people around me. Happy Thanksgiving, Raincouver.

I’m very glad that the work crew dragged me out to this hike, needed to escape, runaway and hide in the fog for a day. Recharged and ready to go for the next week! (This doesn’t always last very long, I usually crash by mid week and am ready to runaway again).

A rest area after the switchbacks.

Lesser Lake comes first, poor thing gets a put down name.

Walk faster guys…

First views of the lake.

So calm.

Sneaky shot of somebody meditating.

Around to the other side of the lake.

Time to go home. Photo credits – PvN

Hiking boots are a huge plus, it’s getting muddy up there. Make sure to carry enough water and food, but not too much. I don't recall how crowded it was last time that I visited, which was probably about 3 years ago, at least. It's still not too bad. I think the wet ground and the switchbacks keep people away.

More on this hike here:
https://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/garibaldi-lake/
https://www.livetrails.com/trails/Garibaldi-Lake-19.html
http://whistlerhiatus.com/whistlerhikes/garibaldi-lake.html

My photo style keeps switching with my mood… That soft foggy look is so moody, and the clear almost HDR look brightens up the page. Either way. Hope to squeeze in more hikes before snow season.

Now that the whole wedding shenanigans are over, I thought I would have more time, but that’s just been replaced by other worrisome things (the sad weather, the company getting sold, gas prices going up, my hair needs a cut… the list goes on, but let’s try some positive thinking tonight).

38/52: Visited the Scandinave spa, went for tacos at La Cantina, and went to Garibaldi Lake.

Clockwise from top left: Scandinave spa; La Cantina decor; messy burrito topped with avocado and lots of sauce; wouldn’t be a food post without a flatlay – tacos and the same burrito drowning in sauce.

The burrito was soggy. The taco shell was too thick, but had pretty strong flavor (corn?). The toppings on the tacos were lacking. This ain’t Tacofino, but it’s pretty good for a small joint in Whistler. We were starving, so it was wolfed down pretty quickly.

We also visited this green juice shop called The Green Moustache:

Shots!

Healthy shots of green juice and something with ginger and tumeric. Apple slices to chase. This place felt very hipster and new age and organic/gluten free/vegan/whole/clean. Just full of good stuff. I get cravings for smoothies sometimes, so it’s nice to know there’s this place readily available in Whistler, after a day of whatever it is I’m doing there.

This wasn't even the whole weekend! I’m one week behind, and yikes, playing catch up sucks. I’ll have to post everyday to get up to date, with all the mini day trips and meals I’ve been having.