Again, I'm a bit behind on posting this week because of moving and all, but I STILL MADE IT AND THAT IS WHAT COUNTS. We moved back to my parents' house this week, because we're in between homes. Overall, I felt much more relaxed while at my parents' house than living in my 2 bedroom apartment (can you even call that second room a bedroom???), even though there's a pile of boxes and clutter crammed into a small basement in an over 50 year old house. The pile of boxes and stuff was right next to me, in full view, and I had to wonder how we were able to keep so much stuff inside our teeny apartment. 

Even though there are fewer shops within walking distance this week, life felt more convenient. It was just so nice to have child care within the distance of going up a flight of stairs. H had a shorter commute to work, and could make it home earlier for S's night time routine. 

Apartment living was too fast paced, cramped, and stressful.  Let's see how I feel about house living after a few more days. 

One thing about house living that hasn't changed is that we can still order food delivery! 

Look at how much food we had delivered Sushi Mura last night. Some of it was meant for baby S, but she fell asleep before we could get it prepared. Salmon sashimi (top left corner) was really good. Alaska roll (under the sashimi, on the left) could've used more of the sauce on top of it, but adding pepper was a good touch. The deep fried stuff was no longer fresh - we needed an air fryer to perk it back up (air fryer is our work in progress). The piece de resistance (I'm too tired to figure out accents on this computer...) was the volcano roll with salmon!  

It's just a pile of deep fried rice with more deep fried tempura or panko bits, surrounding a spicy salmon and cucumber mix. Love that spicy sauce with the crispy cucumbers. 

All of it was actually very similar to Sushi Garden in terms of volume. I prefer the Sushi Garden Alaska roll though, because they're slightly more generous with the sauce. 

That's it for now, there's too much going on and I do not have the words right now to try to be creative. 

Oh, one more thing. Some people really don't change - think before you speak please! Biggest eye rolls today when N accused J of messing up the meeting times! Maybe it was a joke...

Almost missed posting this week! It's been hectic with baby S, moving, and taking just ONE course at BCIT. I guess I don't mind though, and I'll miss the rush of having to do all the things at once. To make it through the day, I have about 2 or 3 cups of coffee. Prototype Coffee is the roastery of choice this month: 

M gifted me a gift set for Christmas with about 5 samples of different coffee beans, and I've loved all of them so far. Each baggy contains about 3 scoops of coffee beans, using the scoop from Aeropress, and I guess I'm not enough of a coffee connoisseur because I don't know how much that is in grams. I'm also a horrible coffee blogger, because I never remember all the flavors profiles and notes of cranberries or pomegranate, blah. They're great. Just go try them. 

I hope to go visit them in person some day soon. Their cafe looks very unique, and they have a few other products (waffle donut?! bottled blue London fog?!) that I would like to get my hands on.

Speaking of hands, I've been wearing a thumb stabiliser for the past week. I'm pretty sure it was from playing Among Us on my phone and cramping over that little joystick button on the screen, and not because of carrying baby S, although she is getting chunkier.   

After looking back at 2020 in my last post, I thought the second week of the year might be a good time to look ahead to what I hope to do in 2021. 

1. I hope to eat a lot of good and affordable (or better yet, free) food: 

H likes to visit Richmond Public Market, and in the food court, they have these super affordable Chinese food take out spots. Less than $15 for all food in the photo! Greasy, but quite fresh and better than other similar fast Chinese food places, like Kent's Kitchen. 

2. I hope to move to a larger space, and make it feel like home. Then, I'll get the COVID-19 vaccine, and I'll invite friends over to celebrate all the things we couldn't in 2020. For my own reference, it took close about a year for the current place to feel cosy. 

3. I hope to go back to work. Not only do I miss making money, I actually miss the adult interactions. It'll be nice to go back to the workplace, and I can blog about relationships I have with people and things other than my baby, husband, and food. 

4. I hope to buy something bougey with the money I make from going back to work. 

5. I hope to go back to school.

:) 

And it's the first Sunday of 2021! 

2020 was full of huge life changes for us:   

• Had a baby, and I still remember to brush my teeth every day  
• Visited Victoria and other parts of Vancouver Island 
• Lots of housing decisions (renovations, selling, buying, moving, etc.)
• Sold my car

It feels like we were stuck in limbo for a while, during the first 4 months with baby S, mainly from lack of sleep, but then she got the hang of sleeping (I have my husband to thank for sleep training her). Even with COVID-19 raging across the world and slowing things down, time seems to have flown, and I'm afraid to blink, in case I miss one of baby S's milestones. 

She's been making the motions of learning to crawl lately. Before she makes that leap, I'm trying to soak in these last few days of watching her roll around our apartment in the morning, as I make my first cup of coffee for the day. Today, I'd like to thank Tofino Coffee Roasting Company for fuelling my day. 

 

We picked this up from our weekend in Tofino last year (wow, feels so strange to type that...) and we finally got around to trying it. Old Growth, mediam roast blend, great with the Aeropress. I used 3 clicks on the Porlex mini to grind the beans. 

For me, there is usually a sense of resetting on January 1st, but this year, it's just a continuation of the same old from last year (again, so strange to type that...). There's always Lunar New Year to look forward to. 

First year not attending any Christmas parties, no family, no friends, just me and the baby.  Oh and the husband who has night shift and has to nap all day to prepare. I thought it might be a nice change to have a quiet holiday wearing sweat pants, just me and the baby, but I'm actually more tired now. I think I expected to have a chill day, just play with baby S and maybe watch a few Christmas movies, but instead, she decided to explode in her diaper, and I ended up having to do extra laundry on top of all the other things to keep her fed and happy (first world problem, yes, I know). Wish H would learn how to change diapers, sleep less, clean more, and maybe pick up breastfeeding as a side hobby.

Meanwhile, I always have raw fish to drown my sorrows in:  

We ordered take out from Steve's Poké Bar in Mount Pleasant after dropping off Christmas presents at the front door steps of our family and friends (following the social distancing rules!). This came highly recommended by P, who loves their first location up at SFU. I guess they're successful enough up there to start opening up more locations around the Lower Mainland, including this one in Vancouver.

Both H and I had the California Dreamin', which consists of salmon and lots of edamame... That was my mistake. I shouldn't have chosen that one, because I actually find edamame disgusting, so I picked them all out and gave them to H.  The rice was also not our favourite, as it was a bit crumbly and did not have much flavor. They also did not have a brown rice option, which I prefer, but they do offer salad mix. 

The marinated salmon was actually really good though, so I wouldn't mind giving it a second try, and just pick my own toppings more carefully (no edamame!). I never thought of myself as a picky eater, but now that I think about it, I have some weird food habits, like this thing with the edamame. I also don't like raw nuts, particularly peanuts. I wonder if this would have been different if my parents put me through baby led weaning, which we've just started with baby S. 

This holiday season has not been easy, and what has made it easier is all the very thoughtful gifts and messages that friends and family have sent. Always working on that gratitude attitude... 

Picked up a dim sum platter from Sea Fortune for $38:

From the left corner and going clockwise, this platter includes: 

    -4 shrimp dumplings

    -3 sticky rice in lotus leaf wraps

    -4 panfried radish cake 

    -3 bbq pork buns

    -4 siu mai

There were also a few spring rolls, in a separate box, which I thought was quite thoughtful because it helped to prevent the crispy skins from getting soggy: 

Probably the best deal we've come across, and definitely the most aesthetically pleasing dim sum takeout around the Lower Mainland, just missing a piece of parsley garnish, or a carved carrot garnish. 

The standards at Sea Fortune are pretty high, and both H and I were satisfied with the quality. Did I mention all of this food was only $38? 

You might think that it's a lot of food for just the two of us, even though we had some leftovers for breakfast the next day, but hey, stop judging us! I'm still breastfeeding, and constantly hungry. Baby S is still waking up in the middle of the night, but luckily, not as often as before, so I actually get a few REM cycles. I'm starting to feel a bit more like myself again!

Except when she's latched on to me. I get this wave of anxiety, and I think it's because I actually have to stop and sit down while nursing her. I can go on my phone, surf the net, read an eBook, but it's still a restriction on my freedom. Pumping is not a solution either, because I hate doing it even more, especially with all the parts to clean, and don't even suggest switching to formula. Baby S practically licks the floor, and I swear, if I don't protect her with the antibodies in my breast milk, she'd be sick everyday. 

There is light at the end of the tunnel though. We finally started her on solids at 6 and a half months, so my boobs will belong to me again soon enough. More updates on the solids in a future post.  

I haven't been very motivated to blog, since returning to Vancouver from Victoria, mostly because we've been eating at home more often. Not very interesting to post about my third Instapot chicken meal of the week, but at least I have my orange juice. 

I was pretty stoked when Glory Juice gave me my own code (LUWESA15) for 15% off their fresh cold-pressed juices this week.  When I was in Victoria, I had gotten into the habit of drinking Tropicana's orange juice with LOTS OF PULP, which I'm sure is just loaded with sugar and not very healthy, but I needed the vitamin C in the juice to go along with my iron pill. It actually makes a huge difference in my energy level when I don't take the iron pill with vitamin C, and an even bigger difference when I don't take the pill at all. Making sure my iron levels are maintained at a regular level is just another part of being a breastfeeding mom...

After coming home to Vancouver, we just haven't had the fridge space for a large carton of juice. I've attempted to remember to take the iron pill with an actual orange, but sometimes, I'm too busy or tired to bother (maybe if I had my iron pill, I wouldn't be so tired. Hmm...). 

Anyways, when I got the code, I immediately ordered both the options that matched the Vitamin C nutrition profile, as well as one of the juices that contain high iron, and one other for skin and hair health because I've been losing so much hair lately (postpartum effects, ugh). Tastes delicious. Also tastes guilt free, without added sugar, because they use real organic vegetables and fruits.  Also, the bottles are conveniently sized to fit my fridge. 

H went to pick up our online order for me, and he mentioned there was lots of great COVID-19 safety protocols being imposed at the Glory Juice location by Olympic Village. I'm sure the other locations in Yaletown and Coal Harbour are just as diligent with their safety procedures. 

These juices aren't cheap. Use LUWESA15 for 15% off online orders at Glory Juice. 

What else have we been up to? Sleep training, cloth diapering, learning to sit, and lots of time wasted on Instagram...