Another COVID birthday in isolation. Grateful to have thoughtful friends, like M, who sent me some mini pies from Peaked Pies: 

Check out the variety! 

Each flavour is labeled on the box, underneath the pies. I actually did not sample each one - my mom had some, H took a lot of them to work for his morning coffee, but the ones that I did get a bite of were top notch, as expected. The Vietnamese coffee flavour was very creamy, with a cookie crumble crust. My favourite was key lime, possibly because my current pregnancy cravings are for citrusy flavours. Would not recommending reheating the ones with cream, but all other ones with fruity jams were fabulous after reheating in the air fryer. 

My appetite has diminished significantly, after officially entering the 3rd trimester. While I feel hungry, I can't eat very much, and I also forget to make time to eat while plugging away at work. I feel that this job requires a fairly stable mood, and usually, I would be fine, but being pregnant makes my moods more unpredictable. Small things can set me off, like the doctor asking me if I have enough support at home, looking at old baby photos, and even watching a movie where new parents are picking out a name for their baby. 

I am allowed to feel emotions, but I also can't deny that hormones are playing a huge part in my rollercoaster moods and lack of motivation this week, but still managed to get some things done!

1. Clean shoes (for the 3rd week in a row!)
2. Call customers with multiple locations until I reach them (I reached some of them...)
3. Figure out how to get library books on my new second hand Kobo (birthday gift from H)
4. Put up the shower hooks that were purchased at the beginning of the year
5. Take 10 minutes to do yoga or go for a walk every day (This was helpful and very enjoyable)

Going to set some lofty kitchen cleaning goals this week, before the start of the Lunar New Year: 

1. Download library books onto Kobo
2. Put up the shower hooks that were purchased at the beginning of the year
3. Sleep before 11PM, and wake up before 7AM every day
4. Clean hood fan
5. Clean stove
6. Organize spices, coffees, and teas in pantry

Don't forget mercury is also in retrograde until Feb. 3, so continue to be extra vigilant, friends!

H took me to the Keg on Granville Island for a belated “surprise” birthday dinner:

He tried to “surprise” me by telling me that he couldn’t make a reservation at any of the other Keg locations, and brought me to Granville Island to get groceries. Along the way, we walked by the Keg Granville Island location, which I had forgotten existed, and then, it all made sense.
It wasn’t the best prime rib, and it wasn’t the worst, but for the price, I really can’t complain. I asked for rare, and it came out quite bloody, as it should be. The veggies on the side were… cooked? What more can I ask for?


The real surprise of the night was that H really liked his chicken and ribs. Because he doesn’t eat beef, he doesn’t frequent the Keg, and this was actually his first time eating here. He was impressed by the smokey flavor of the BBQ ribs, and even though the meat was a minute overcooked, he didn’t mind that it was just a tad chewy.



Since it was my birthday, they sent us a complimentary slice of the Billy Miner pie. I’m glad the server convinced me to accept their kind offer of free dessert, because it did complete the meal. The Keg’s final touch of free chocolate ice cream pie might have just helped us start a new tradition of coming to the Keg every year for my birthday.

Lately, I’ve been catching myself thinking too far ahead. Even at the Keg for my birthday, enjoying a plate of food the size of my head, I’m thinking about the next meal, but really, I should be enjoying what’s in front of me. Do you ever feel like you have to seize the moment and not waste time, when you’re by yourself, not thinking about anything? Too much to do, not enough time…

Feeling materialistic lately, which has led to a lot of online window shopping instead of sleeping. This might be caused by too much television. I also had dinner at Coast, for a friend’s birthday party, which has inspired me to act more lavishly than usual. I met a few new friends there, and it’s inspired me to be more ambition than before. They’re a bit older, they dress nicely, and the servers at Coast know them by name! If that’s not a sign of societal success, I’m not sure what is…

Too bad the food was so salty at Coast. I’m not sure if I’d want to pay that amount of money for a meal, and then have to spend more money to replace my kidney, which would be losing functionality from all the oversalted food! For 9 people, we had the set menu, which came with various options. For appetizer, I chose the tuna poke, which had lots of cucumbers and pineapples.

I also had the sablefish, which was served over mashed potatoes and mushrooms. If I weren’t so hungry, there would be so much of this salty dish left over:

A few of us had the lobster, which was really cool to look at, but not the most convenient to eat. S had a tough time separating the meat and the shell:

Finally, dessert! The server had forgotten that we had asked for a different dessert for the birthday girl, because she doesn’t enjoy coconut, which made up 80% of this coconut banana cake dessert. Coconut is not one of my faves either… Anyway, in the end, the server came back with a chocolate lava cake topped with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream:

It’s really getting late now, but I’ve passed that point where I’m actually tired. This week has been full of staying out late and sleeping about 5 to 6 hours. The light from my screen has ruined my circadian rhythm, and even though it’s 1AM right now, my brain doesn’t want to shut off. I’m probably going to crash over the long weekend, but before the holiday, I have things to do this week:

-do 5 days of work in 3 because I’m taking Thursday and Friday off
-get a haircut
-prepare for P’s wedding
-prepare for D’s wedding
-plan my own wedding

H’s 30th birthday is coming up, and it’s an important age, so I wanted to make sure he would remember it. Behind his back, I had planned for about 20 of our friends to meet at Speeder’s to hang out last weekend, before his actual birthday to catch him off guard. As part of the deception, I had also booked him for a nice dinner prior to his surprise birthday party. It was a way to book off his evening and get him out of the house. We went to West Oak in Yaletown:

They’re known for serving sustainable, West Coast style dishes. I’m still not too sure what “West Coast” food means, other than certain seafoods, but we had some good mussels. There was also a delicious side of brussel sprouts bacon dish, which was made with apricots and a sprinkle of parmesan:

You’ll ntoice the lobster tail linguine in the background of the photo above. It’s in the background because neither of us preferred it, and we would not spend our hard earned money on that again. The service was quick, and they managed to seat us on the packed patio after just a few minutes of waiting. Overall, a good experience, but I would not go back. The restaurant scene in Vancouver is very competitive, and there are plenty of other places to go for more affordable West Coast, sustainable dishes.



I think H had a good time at his party. He was thoroughly surprised, and did not expect me to plan such a successful event. I almost want to plan another one, just because it was so satisfying to bring everybody together for a purpose. After doing this though, I think I realize the significance of making time and energy to participate in these types of events, and really try to connect with everybody. Parties are difficult to coordinate, because everybody is busy now being adults and making a living, and how many 30th birthdays, 1st birthdays, weddings, graduations, Fridays, Mondays – DAYS in general - are left for us to actually celebrate together?

For B’s birthday, her husband flew her sister from Toronto back home, planned a surprise dinner for her, and treated about 20 of us to dinner at Nightingale:



Dinner was served family style, starting with 3 different salads – a watercress (almost all eaten in the photo above), a kale, and an apple salad. The apple salad topped with a bit of cheese was probably my favourite, followed closely by the very crispy watercress salad. We had salmon (also in photo above), and beef (see photos below) as the mains.



The pizzas were for the few people who didn’t eat fish or beef – super thin crust!


LA PIECE DE RESISTANCE… (excuse my poor French):



The entire meal, everybody patiently waited for me to snap some quick photos of the food, but once desserts were laid out on the table, it was all “yo, the ice cream is melting” and “hurry up” and “come on, are you done?”… Interesting what fresh apple crumble with vanilla ice cream, panna cotta, and brownie topped with peanut butter and a side of perfectly scooped espresso ice cream can do to “friends and family”. I guess it was pretty delicious though.



The service was also 5/5. Reasons:
-server picked up the napkin and refolded it
-didn’t reach in to refill waters but always knew when to step in
-super friendly
-well dressed and groomed (this really affects the whole impression of the restaurant, I don’t want somebody who looked like they needed a shower serving me food)

Happy birthday, B. Family is so important. I’m so glad I have a good one.

H’s birthday this weekend, and we went for some good ol’ birthday brunch at Denny’s:

He had the Grand Slam, which has pancakes, 2 sausages, 2 bacon, and 2 eggs. I had the one with the cheddar cheese melted into the scrambled eggs, which you can see above. Coffee was a must. Also, milkshake as a birthday treat. I don’t mind Denny’s, they’re a pretty decent chain. Good greasy food for a well rounded diet… Potatos are vegetables, right?

We spent the rest of his birthday doing what he loves best – garage sale shopping and eating more. He surprised me with a record player; I brought out the Lionel Richie records that I’d been hiding from him for a month:

Today was a scorcher.

End of the month hike at Sasamat Lake with P+M and young P, which turned into a much longer adventure to find the views at Buntzen Lake Ridge:

This was a pretty steep hike, and we weren’t prepared for it as we had not packed enough water and food.  I had Hardbite chips (Jalapeno flavored, $2.50 a bag) and a few cherry tomatoes. In this 31°C weather, we barely made it back down to the car. When we did get back to the vehicle, where we had our cooler stashed, we sat right down on the grass next to the car, and started stuffing our faces with the cheese, pita, hummus, and rice balls we were saving for after the hike. No shame.

Despite P hitting my car, I think we’re still on good terms. Despite older P leaving, among all other changes, I am still enjoying my time here. I can't help forgiving, forgetting, and moving on, there are more beautiful things out there to enjoy:

:

I thought I’d put in the effort to plan a party, but ended up getting way too busy with things that life throw at you. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel though. Here’s how I’ve been celebrating so far:

Price Smart Dark Forest cake at work. Their cakes have always been surprisingly good, and this one did not disappoint. Thanks guys.

Fauborg!!!! Rich and full of flavors, aroma, texture, gold flakes. This was their espresso chocolate one I think… Not sure as H ordered it for me. It’s a little too rich for everyday, but such a treat for my birthday. Thanks H and family.

Donuts from Cartem’s instead of cake. Had a bit of the earl grey (pretty good), london fog (B’s favorite, cream filled and pretty good), coconut cream (cream filled again, and average), honey parmesan (I didn’t taste any parmesan, but apparently everybody else did), and the walnut (average).  The light in this Main Street location is fabulous though, and it smelled so good that I started salivating once I stepped inside. I still prefer Lucky’s though. Sorry B!

Much gratitude to everybody for starting this year with me. Birthdays are sure different from what they used to be. I’m starting to prefer the smaller groups, partly because it’s so hard to get everybody together. It’s usually worth the effort, but it’s also impossible to plan. I guess once the babies start coming, we’ll be even busier. We’re not even past January, and there’s been a lot of baby talk this year already. I’m not ready for this. I still have so many places to go!

Battle of the donuts continues…

Now that I’m in my late 20’s, I go skiing without a hangover. Whistler was beautiful this Saturday:



Then, we picked up a Nespresso on Saturday, and decorated my house with red and champagne (not white) roses:



This is the Inissia model, uses only the OriginalLine capsules. We took advantage of the $100 coffee credit to pick up about 14 boxes of capsules, including the limited edition Ciocco Ginger (intensity of 6, which is the middle).  When they run out, I’m going to scalp these on Craigslist. H laughed when I told him my plan.

It was difficult getting back to work on Monday.

Found this photo tonight on my phone.  It’s from the same night as this post, which was from my first time partying at the PNE Coliseum.

A had a birthday party at my basement the other night, and it was J’s first time at my basement.  The first timer had a little too many intoxicants and had an accident on the extra mattress.  He is now known as Pet-J. Sorry, should’ve warned you! 
First time getting 3 BSOD in one night on my Fujitsu.  First time biking to Jethro’s and Jericho Beach. First time doing a Hogan test.  First time planning an event with paid-for tickets. 
Not the first time running on too little sleep and being disappointed because I expected too much to happen

...to me! Birthday gift from my aunts that I got last night after yoga class. Love it! Makes being in class tonight just a little more bearable.

On a side note, it feels like we are sorta drifting apart. Why is this so hard?

Birthdays can be pretty awesome.   Cakes, dinners, presents, balloons.  My friends were pretty awesome this year.  Not only did we go to Cho Sun for Korean BBQ and hot pot, they threw me a surprise party. Most people I wanted to see were there, but it’s hard to fit everyone’s schedules. I definitely missed you if you were invited and not there. I missed you more if you were not invited and not there. If you weren’t really invited, but still showed up, I guess I’m okay with that too, but party crashing ain’t cool, bro. The balloons are still floating in mid air, bobbing up and down.

  
D’s lunch – (expensive) cheese with bitter melon stuffed with pork. lol.

 
A, D, J, T Night– Commercial Dr. jumping between Brado for poutine (A - “SO SMOOTH”) and Memphis Blues (T - “MEAT MEAT MEAT!!!”).  We only got the ribs at Memphis Blues because they were out of the other plate.  Lots of fun afterwards, like rolling around on the carpet, spilling onto the carpet, spilling onto the bed, spilling onto clothes, and throwing my camera so that there is now a hole in my wall.

S’s Birthday Dinner – Takura Bune.  Servers there got slightly angry because people arrived pretty late and she wanted to give our table away.  Some people are so rude.

Happy Birthday S! Enjoy the Pocky~

My arm is sore from the tetanus shot, but at least my thumb doesn’t hurt!

whip cream + chocolate shot glass + champagne

champagne was T’s birthday present. we popped it in some dark alley behind Ebisu and passed around, until we got scared by a dumpster diver.  i had an awesome night. hope you enjoyed your birthday party too, T!

PW decided to have a BBQ to celebrate her birthday this year!

blueberry slush. this tasted very good. S, start a bbt place soon please.

this guy’s a monster. patty + spareribs, and didn’t even bother cutting out the bones.

mango pudding!!!!!!! what’s the trick to prevent mangoes from browning….?

more mango, in cake form. the syrup was sorta messy, but it tasted good. we had a hard time splitting this between ~30 people though. the pieces were very randomly shaped, and size of a piece could range from eaten in less than a bite to eaten in maybe 3 bites… lol. cutting cake is not as easy as it seems!!!!!!!!

pictures were from my Samsung ST50… not too bad right?

happy belated birthday PW.