We had a fantastic, productive week, starting with Baby S's first gig as as a flower girl! This took some balancing, as H was at work, and I was by myself with Baby S for the ceremony. J&Z did a beautiful job with the planning, despite all the road blocks of pandemic times. Baby S tried her first lobster. 

Nothing like social isolation to teach you the true value of a party. 

Baby S then developed a slight fever, and was not her best self for a day or two. She got better in time to attend her first baby shower, and had the time of her life, eating fruit, dancing, hanging out with new friends. I think she's an extrovert, because she only started crying when we took her away from the party to go home. 

We visited Oh Carolina, later on in the week: 

To the person responsible for their merchandising, I would like to commend you on your product placement for the baby fruit pouches. Baby S immediately started rifling through the packages at the front of the counter, and we had to get her one: 

 

I had the matcha latte, and a sip of H's cappuccino, which were both decent. Their croissant was super flaky (we left a mess of flakes on the table, on the chairs, all over the ground... thanks for putting up with us Oh Carolina!), buttery, perfection for an early morning with a toddler. I hope to return soon for their other brunch items. Their outdoor seating is calling to me, and I will be here with TWO BABIES once the weather warms up. 

Behind the scenes, Baby S learning the tricks of the trade: 

Maybe because we had so much going on this week, I was extra tired, and noticed how many times I was bending down to pick up baby S or a random assortment of objects that are on the ground. Toys, articles of clothing (socks mostly), food, forks, spoons, what have you... I seem to remember that my back and hips were in a lot of pain last time post partum, but I can't recall whether bending caused any excruciating pain. Life goes on... 

From last week: 

1. Reorganize dining area and move the IKEA LACK shelves (Half way there! Everything has been moved off, and we are slowly reorganizing things)
2. Expand my knowledge of smoothies in Vancouver (this is ongoing, as my smoothie cravings continue to persist throughout my 3rd trimester)
3. Take walks every day for 10 minutes consecutively, not for work (*laughs* this didn't even happen once, and I will have to be more intentional to check this off). 

This week, I'm going to carry over everything from last week's list, and add on more baby prep. 

1. Reorganize dining area and move the IKEA LACK and KALLAX shelves
2. Expand my knowledge of smoothies in Vancouver 
3. Take walks every day for 10 minutes consecutively after breakfast, not for work
4. Pack baby bag 
5. Pack my hospital bag

Learning a new job has been exhausting. I've forgotten what it's like to navigate a completely new system and new team of faces. Need strong coffee in the morning: 

The first few days, H dropped me off at work, and we would visit Elysian on 7th and Ontario together. Pretty latte art aside, the coffee is decent and the service is friendly. What more can you ask for?

I do prefer JJ Bean though. 

It's also super weird to type and use a Windows system right now, now that I've been so ultra focused on learning to use a Macbook for the last few days. I feel so crippled and limited when I'm on the Macbook, because I can imagine doing all the things that I do on Windows, but I can't communicate it fast enough with the Macbook (or at all). 

This is probably what my parents feel like, except 100x worse because they didn't grow up with any type of computer at all. I wonder what baby S will use in the future that I will completely be useless at. 

We survived the hottest day in the history of Vancouver!

H and I took baby S to take refuge at BS's place, where they have centralized air conditioning at home. It's much more efficient than us going out to buy a new AC unit, which probably wouldn't even dent the heat in our house. I needed a break in the middle of the day to get a coffee, and originally planned to drop by JJ Bean for a nice cold shiver (it's like a Tim Hortons ice cap, but with real coffee, thus better). Instead, they suggested we visit The Mighty Oak: 

They were out of cold brew, and we ended up getting iced beverages instead. The total for our iced latte and iced americano came to just around $10. 

I liked it, but inside the shop, it was missing a bit of character, so I probably wouldn't go back to hang out. The inside seemed quite clean, with shiny countertops, but it felt like the materials were cheaply chosen and just was missing that hint of classy hipster coffee shop vibe. The coffee was good though, so I wouldn't mind going for a pick me up during the day, if I happen to be in the neighborhood. 

Baby S was so drained that she fell asleep in less than 5 minutes while we were out with her in the stroller. Now that the heat wave is over, I think I'll finally get a good night's rest. 

This week, I feel like I’ve done a lot, but accomplished nothing. Maybe more coffee will get me through to the next week:



During my last visit to Toronto, D suggested that we walk over to Neo Coffee Bar for a quick breakfast. They make beautiful Asian inspired delicacies, including mochi and cake rolls, with Asian inspired flavours, like matcha and sesame. We had the matcha red bean roll, sesame roll, and the seasonal peach flavor, which were all very good. Really good, filled with cream and paired so well with the latte.



The sesame red bean mochi was the real winner here. It’s a huge ball of soft mochi stuffed to the edges and bursting with sesame and red bean cream filling. So next time, I’m going to get a dozen of these for the plane ride home:



I haven’t found a spot like this in Vancouver yet, with a cozy industrial feel and the same desserts. Maybe La Foret, because they also have roll cake? Let me know if you find any others.

Back to this week… I really haven’t been able to focus very well, my mind keeps drifting. I’ve always been pretty good at prioritizing, but I’m at a point where nothing seems to matter anymore, because everything seems like a big life change. Life changing decisions were made and even more need to be made soon. New apartment, travelling, getting married, career… Where do I put my energy and what’s the next step?

Everybody gets worried sometimes, and for me, it’s been more than usual lately. I’m pretty sure the season plays a strong part in it. Working in an office from 9 to 5 will do that to you. Getting to the office in the dark, leaving the office in the dark… Depressing. Drains all my energy to deal with the worries and anxieties.

That’s why on the weekends, I try to get outside as much as possible. Coffee helps.

Here’s us at Dalina:
 


I had the turmeric latte, because I thought it would be a healthy alternative to the usual coffee that I guzzle every 2 hours to keep me awake. Might be the placebo effect, but I instantly feel my skin clear up, my breathing becomes smoother, vision clears up... Maybe I'm exaggerating here, but turmeric is quite good for your health.

It turns out that ordering this drink that morning was a horrible mistake though, because I had forgotten that I didn’t have coffee the day before, and thus, was super cranky and withdrawn. Otherwise, Dalina’s turmeric latte was a beautiful drink to have at a beautiful little grocery shop. Self serve sparkling water, regular water, and even milk and soy milk along the walls for your coffee. Might have to come back to try their actual coffees, but right now… I’m headed to the East coast for a week to see what I can find.



Back to this next weekend:


I’m pretty sure I’m still very normal and healthy, but as a millenial, I just have to write about my problems on the internet, so I can feel like I’m being heard. It’s society’s fault.

Last thing this week... Tourism Squamish posted my photo on their blog post about snowshoe trails in the Squamish area! Read about it here: http://www.exploresquamish.com/news/trail-feature-6-snowshoe-trails-you%E2%80%99ve-never-heard-of-in-squamish

Went out for a coffee and some alone time at The Drive Coffee Bar:

This place wasn’t too busy at around noon today, with 2 baristas. They have good strong coffee. I had the iced lavender latte, sat on their little patio, and researched places to go in Taiwan. I liked that it was quiet and peaceful, despite being on a busy street and I will be back to try other coffees (or maybe a beer). 

  

I’m glad I have these hobbies to keep me busy while H is out of town. Here was coffee number 1 from earlier today, and my new baby plants from the Prickly Pear sale:

Plants from Prickly Pear, around $9.
Terrarium from garage sale, $2.
Coffee from Nespresso, around $0.75. Lol.

I’m trying to budget so I can get my drone this month on Amazon Prime Day.

Got Netflix recently. It’s a bit of an obsession to just easily just click it on and lose myself in hours of scandalous politics. A great friend for an introvert. What an effort it was to drag myself away from it and see real human beings. Coffee usually gets me going out though:

Visited Tuc with the gals. Sorry M, for being an hour late and for making you guys wait in line for us… I had the lavender latte:



That’s it, what else do I need on a rainy Sunday afternoon? Lavender lattes are one of my favorite beverages (I used to sit outside Waves and read with one by my side), and this one did not disappoint. The others had the chicken and waffles, some egg thing with beans, and some other egg and potato thing. Apparently, it was good, but I was still full from breakfast and could really only handle a latte. Too bad the wait times are so horrendous (1 hour today).





OK, back to Scandal. More meaningful posts to come.

Met up with some pals for brunch at 33 Acres and had some coffee…

…and some beer batter waffles topped with ham infused butter…

…and I think I really liked it. Strong coffee, perfectly poached eggs (the others had this), and just a great atmosphere. It’s such a busy place at around 11AM though, I’m not sure if I’d go back on a Sunday Brunchday.

Being busy is being lucky, says my mother. Being busy is a disease, says the Internet. I personally like to keep busy, I have plans to make plans… The coming year should be a busy one, with lots of plans to travel, explore, and develop those skills I already got. I recently (yesterday) purchased Your Chinese Horoscope 2017 by Neil Somerville, and I’m so excited to read it. The rest of this darn Monkey year is just dragging on and on! 10 more days till we reach the end of this torturous year…