Saturday randoms

Day 231

After two or so weeks of gorgeous sunshine, the rain is back with a vengeance. Apparently we are supposed to get 20mm overnight.

Anyway, so I helped Bobby paint the boxes for my advent calendar and Bobby put all the pieces together and:

Voila! The finished product. No chocolates in the teeny tiny drawers yet... Though I expect them to be filled by tomorrow :)

Later on in the day, I checked up on Kiwi and Chaos and found them sleeping like this. Chaos is a VERY heavy sleeper. I managed to wake Kiwi up and take her out of their cage without even waking Chaos up... even though they were sleeping right next to each other :/

Little Miss Chaos in dreamland

Ghost beer

Day 230 (part two and a day late! )

Bobby had to chill his beer really fast last night and so he decided to use his face towels.... anyway so the towels froze in beer shape and he looked like he was drinking ghost beer ;)

Just an ordinary day in downtown, Vancouver

Day 230

Today is my Friday off. I spent my morning in Pacific Centre because I had to return something. Also I wanted to check out Aritzia's Black Friday sale. I have a love-hate relationship with Aritzia. I hate how everyone that shops there all ends up looking the same (I have a coworker who has the exact same jacket as me - the Community Paradigm Parka), I have the same Talula leggings as all the other Vancouver leggings.. etc. The thing I hate the most is how severely annoying the sale's ladies can be. The one thing I love about Aritzia is their denim. They have an amazing selection. Too bad everything in Aritzia is overpriced :( I didn't buy any jeans because even though I was there around 10:30 am, the store was PACKED. Do the good ladies of Vancouver not have to work?! I seriously expected it to be empty....

On my walk home, I spotted a movie being filmed on Robson and Howe (across from Chapters and the Art Gallery and the future home of Nordstrom). Vancouver = Hollywood North. Everyday there is something being filmed... But have I ever actually seen a celebrity? Noooo... Lame how that works eh?

Anyway, I have no idea what they were actually filming, but there were tons of cameramen, and other movie set staff... oh and giant big green screens.

UPDATE: So it turns out it was James Franco and Seth Rogen who were filming :)
http://bc.ctvnews.ca/rogen-and-franco-flick-turns-robson-square-into-n-korea-1.1567208

Adieu, dead batteries....

Day 229

... that have been sitting on Bobby's desk for at least a year.. AT LEAST! We go through a lot of batteries (Bobby has a lot of projects) and because you can't throw batteries away, they get piled into a container on Bobby's desk. He's supposed to bring them into work for recycling, but he forgets/doesn't want to. Well, today, I finally remembered to bring them into work with me for recycling! Our house is now a little less junky/cluttered

Green goo for breakfast

Day 228

So I'm sick... runny nose.. feeling like crap... etc. I stopped by Choices on my way to the skytrain this morning to pick up some juice. Bobby always buys this juice, and I think it looks gross because it's green (yes, I have the food mentality of a 5 year old) and I tried it last night and it was sooo good!

I have Friday off so I only have to be zomblie like at work for another day and a half... Then, hello three day weekend :)

And the world's saddest lunch award goes to...

Day 227

ME!

Late yesterday afternoon, I started to feel sick (sore throat), and then we went to the game (I was good and didn't drink any alcohol). I woke up this morning feeling like crap though. My throat felt really dry and I felt really weak.. I kinda slept in so I forgot to bring BOTH parts of my lunch (the stuff that is supposed to go IN the sandwich). Ughhh...

Thank goodness we had some jam in the fridge at work :/

Go Canucks Goooo!

Day 226 (a day late!)

So last night, Bobby and I went to the Canucks game, courtesy of my brother who was not able to sell his tickets. After work, I went to my brother's house to pick up the tickets, rushed home to find Bobby working on my advent calendar (http://bobbobblogs.blogspot.ca/), and very quickly changed into something Canucks (I found a green stick in rink shirt I bought when they made it all the way to the finals two seasons ago).

The game started at 7pm, and we left at 6pm. There was a moderate debate on whether we wanted to walk or transit... the plan was to stop by Costco to eat cheap, delicious food (as opposed to expensive, crappy food at Roger's Arena) before the game. In the end, we decided to walk, and it took about 20 minutes.

So we got to Costco and the line for the concession was REALLY long... seriously, if there were 10 more people in line, we would've been across the street lining up outside of Roger's Arena!! Bobby had to go to the bathroom so I waited in line while he was gone. An older lady ahead of me started to get concerned that Bobby left me there or something. It was really cute. I had mentioned that we were going to the game, and she was concerned that he had taken our tickets and left me at Costco. It was really REALLY funny. I told her that I actually had our tickets, but she was still genuinely relieved when Bobby returned. Haha!! Thanks for not leaving me there Bobby!!!

Bobby eating his chicken strips like a kid

We ate our food REALLY fast and we managed to make it to the game just as the American anthem started. The game itself was exciting as always. It was really gross was Daniel Sedin got hit in the face with a stick and he lost a tooth... Like he literally pulled the tooth out of his mouth to show the ref and it was gross.

Start of period deux

Another gross point was during a fight between 2 LA players and 3 Vancouver players.. The Kings were wearing their white jerseys and Nolan (of the Kings) had blood splattered all over his jersey... It was gross!!

The Canucks lost in OT in the end... but still a fun way to spend a Monday night ;)

Sunday Funday with the familia

Day 225

Went for dim sum today with the familia. We hit up Floata in Chinatown around noon. Personally, I'm not a big fan of dim sum, but it's always fun to hang out with ma family. Plus, today was a birthday celebration for my dad and mom.. and my brother just got back from India.

After lunch, Bobby, my parents and I hit up Tinseltown for some coffee at Starbucks... and also so that I could show my mom the dollar store in Tinseltown. It's this Japanese store that's very similar to Daiso that actually sells some pretty sweet stuff! Afterwards, Bobby and I needed to go grocery shopping so we hit up Costco (which is down the street from Tinseltown) and my parents headed back to suburbia.

Holy hell was Costco ever busy. Rookie mistake hitting up Costco on a Sunday afternoon :)

I found these sweet ear muffs in Costco. They're Uggs and super warm. I am going to need a pair for New York! I decided not to buy these because they are 50$ and I thought they are pricey for ear muffs!I have toques I could use, but I don't want serious hat head every day I am in New York... I decided to search online before buying these since I will only needs ear muffs for my four day sojourn to Manhattan... Anyway, I regret not buying these since upon further research, ear muffs are actually 40$ for a decent pair :( 

Mental note to head back to Costco sometime this week to pick a pair up!

 Speaking of Uggs: Uggs for sale in Costco (Downtown Vancouver location for those interested!)

Laundry time

Day 224 (part two and a day late!)

I was doing laundry yesterday and look who I found: Little Miss Kiwi-Keys. Her lump is continuously shrinking. It was like pimple like and is now drying up. I'm monitoring it like a hawk and keeping her vet appointment just in case it doesn't completely go away.

House hunting... sort of...

Day 224

Bobby and I are planning on moving some time next year, so I have had my eye out for newer, but still affordable, developments in Vancouver. I heard of Kensington Gardens being developed in the East Vancouver area so we went to check it out today at their presentation day. Kensington Gardens is developed by Westbank (developers of so many gorgeous buildings in downtown, Vancouver like the Fairmont Pacific Rim, Telus Gardens and the Shaw Tower), so the design of the exterior of the buildings (three towers) is nice. The inside was just okay and the prices are somewhat astronomical for the location...

Super cool view of downtown Vancouver. All the coloured buildings are Westbank designed and developed buildings.

Anyway, it was a very Asian event (not being racist or anything like that!). On our way out, I got stopped by a Chinese cameraman and he asked me to say a few things about the event. I got really nervous because I am pretty damn shy. Anyway, this really nice lady asked me questions which I then answered while trying not to look terrified or like a deer caught in headlights on camera... She then asked for my name. I didn't catch to see what station they were filming for, but Bobby said it was one he hadn't heard of. Its likely an Asian channel I don't subscribe to... but I knew I would always be big in China ;)

Happy Hunger Games!!!

Day 223 (a day late!!)

And may the odds be ever in your favour!!

Bobby and I went to see Catching Fire last night and it was pretty good. Some people actually dressed up (one girl as Katniss in her wedding dress, which, surprisingly enough actually looked like the wedding dress Katniss wore in the movie...). We usually watch matinee showings on a Sunday, or a mid weeknight movie, and so yesterday was the first movie we have seen in months on a Friday night, and holy hell was it ever busy!!! It was actually kind of insane - an explosion of people just loitering around Scotiabank Theatre waiting for their movie to start. There were a lot of tweeners watching Catching Fire with us and ughhh! Seriously, some of them gasped at the end when *SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK* Gale told Katniss that there was no more district 12 *END SPOILER ALERT*. Oh and there were also serious debates before the movie about who was hotter, Gale or Peeta. If this is what tweeners are like these days I am scared of my future teenage children!!!

Anyway, since I saw Thor 2 last weekend, and Catching Fire last night, I have officially decided that Chris Hemsworth is the Hemsworth brother for me ;)

London Drug cares about you, ladies! !

Day 222 part 2

Spotted this today at LD. Free chocolate with the purchase of lady products... because that time of the month means you need chocolate... am I right ladies?!?!

Minus 1 in Vancouver...

Day 222

...so I put the detachable fur piece back on my new parka... I felt silly walking around with it on when it was 10 degrees, but now its legitimately cold in Vancouver! I don't know how I will survive Manhattan in the winter!

Dear self, take an extra 5 minutes each morning to thoroughly dry your hair! Having a cold scalp every day is starting to get really old!

Homemade cards

Day 221 (a day late!)

Didn't blog last night because I forgot/was lazy/didn't want to (pick your own excuse!), so I am blogging today about why I have been making many trips to Michael's lately! I have decided to make my own Christmas cards this year (and birthday cards for those who were born near the holiday season).

I bought some white blank cards (7$ minus 40% off!), and then three packs of coloured paper (50 sheets a pack for 5$ minus 50% off), and a ton of stickers (various prices, all at 50% off). I am determined to never buy a card ever again. Making cards is fun/therapeutic... who knew I could be somewhat creative?

Anyway, here are the first four cards I've made: a birthday card for each of my parents, a Christmas card for my 4 year old niece (who is also celebrating her 5th birthday on boxing day, so when you open the card, it is actually a birthday card as well - will try to remember to post a pic of this), and a Christmas card for my cousin and his wife.

A cheese grater for the giants!

Day 220

Another giant find at the Winner's on Cambie and West 8th! I would like to meet the person who has a cheese block large enough that will require this grater for grating....

Anyway, refer to this post for my first giant find at Winner's: http://missmiigo.blogspot.ca/2013/09/for-those-extra-large-family-get.html (For those interested, the giant pot is still for sale!!) ;)

My little snuggle-a-paguses

Day 219

Every morning before I leave for work, I check on the hedgies to:

1. Make sure Chaos didn't freeze her tiny ass off overnight

2. Check on Kiwi's bump on her forehead (which looks to be shrinking.. YEAH!)

Today, I found the two tiny terrors sleeping like this... That is Chaos' teeny tiny bum sticking out of the hut this time ;)

Fun times at the aquarium

Day 218

Bobby and I went to the aquarium today:

I promise that this sea otter is very much alive... He is just having a lazy Sunday! 

Bobby and the penguins!

Bobby and the penguin!

We hopped on the bus to the aquarium. On the way back, we stopped in downtown to hit up the downtown Michael's and the Victoria's Secret. I found this lovely butt bin on the corner of Robson and Burrard. Dear Vancouverites, if you insist on smoking, please dump the butts you are finished here instead of littering all over the ground!!

On the way home we hit up Starbucks. It's two for one holiday drinks between 2pm-5pm (offer ends today). Also needed an ice water - we were getting hot from all of the walking ;)

I got a tall skinny peppermint mocha and Bobby got a tall gingerbread latte... mmmm...

Dentist, etc

Day 217

I had my biyearly dentist visit this morning at 9:30am. Last time I went to the dentist was in May and I had to get four micro cavities filled because my fissure sealant had worn out... I had 5 needles go into my mouth which meant I was numb for the longest time ever, I accidentally bit my tongue while numb (it hurt so bad once the freezing wore off), and the visit cost 1200$ which turned into the biggest dental billing nightmare ever (thank goodness for extended health care!!). (You can read more about my experience here: http://missmiigo.blogspot.ca/2013/05/ko-by-dentist.html)
Anyway, no cavities for me this time around! Woo hoo!

I went home after to check up on Kiwi. She has a lump on her forehead which is stressing me out. I'm really hoping it is nothing serious. She's behaving as she normally does (fiesty, yet sweet) which helps ease my mind, but I'm still worried about her. Unfortunately, I could not find a vet in the Vancouver area who will see hedgehogs, but I have her booked to see a vet in Coquitlam in early December. I'm still trying to find a vet who can see her sooner... but in the mean time, I hope her lump goes away and I hope she gets better soon... :(

I gave Kiwi and Chaos cheeries when I got home. This is typical eating habits for these two.. I gave them each two cheerios. Chaos wolfed her down super quickly and Kiwi showed no interest for the longest time.. she did eventually eat them though :)

I spent the rest of the morning cleaning my apartment. Then I went for a bikini wax and eye brow threading.. also hit up Michael's for MORE art supplies!! I'm becoming a Michael's regular. I seriously want one of everything they are selling!

PS: spotted in downtown: an ugly Christmas sweater pop up shop! Located the north east side of the Granville and West Georgia (right in front of the Bay)

Yay for ugly sweaters!

Friday, finally!

Day 216

I've been counting down to this Friday since last Friday.... Ironically, we actually had a three day weekend last weekend since this past Monday was Remembrance Day! I'm working unpaid today so that I can be paid for my big Orlando/New York trip next month!

Anyway, here is some Friday fabulousness/fierceness for ya'll:

These are like a slipper-kicks hybrid... covered in gold dust

 Also, because it is Friday, my day needs to start with a Starbucks latte!

Thursday pizza with two of my favourite ladies!

Day 215 a day late!

Last night, Aleks, Najin and I went for pizza and drinks at the Distillery (at least I think the place is called the Distillery... its pretty close to the Yaletown Brewpub and I think its actually owned by the same guy as well). It was such a nice place! Big comfy couch like booths, gorgeous brick walls... and an interesting co-ed bathroom. I wasn't very hungry so I took half of my pizza home. Bobby also ended up making himself pizza for dinner. Here are the leftover pizzas from last night ;)

I had the prosciutto, arugula and mozzarella deliciousness! Bobby's was pepperoni, spinach and feta... Mmmm

Hedgehog bath time

Day 214

Gave the tiny terrors a bath today. (For anyone interested, I use a soft toothbrush to scrub and Aveeno Baby soothing relief creamy wash to lather - you can find more info here: http://www.aveeno.com/product/aveeno-+baby+soothing+relief+creamy+wash+.do?sortby=ourPicks).

Chaos post bath

Kiwi post bath

I have to give these two devils a bath one at a time. Chaos was up first. In the middle of Kiwi's bath, Chaos managed to find my Trader Joe's popcorn! 

Bad Kay-Kay!!! This popcorn is not for you!

PS: It was an Annie's Mac and Cheese dinner with my pomme biere kind of night!

UPDATE:
Forgot to mention that because Chaos got into my Trader Joe's popcorn bag... she was a salty mess. So when she and Kiwi were back in their cage, Kiwi started to bite Chaos (likely because Kiwi thought Chaos tasted delicious!!!). Bobby got mad at Kiwi and threw her in hedgehog jail.

Waterproof

Day 213

Soo... I LOVE my new parka!!! It was drizzling pretty hard this morning when I was "commuting" (word in quotations because I only live 15 minutes away from work), so I was pretty excited to wear my new parka. When I was at Aritzia yesterday, the sales lady kept pointing things out about the jacket, and one of the things she mentioned is that the jacket is actually water PROOF (not just water resistant). Last night, I decided to test out the waterproof-ness of my jacket. This was a true science experiment with a hypothesis, method, conclusion, etc ;). I took my jacket and held it over my bathroom sink. I then dumped a glass full of water on one of the sleeves and was impressed with how the water just slipped right off of it... Upon touching the sleeve, I can confirm that the sleeve remained dry! Woo hoo! Today, when I wore the jacket in the rain, the rain drops stayed ON my jacket (as opposed to being absorbed by it) further confirming my findings! Bring on the rain, Vancouver! I am ready for you!!

Proof of raindrops remaining ON jacket! (No absorption here!)

Thank you Bobby for the most awesome Christmas present ever!!

PS: This is another PSA to check out Bobby's blog about his super cool projects: http://bobbobblogs.blogspot.com/

Good times in Suburbia

Day 212

Firstly, Happy Remembrance Day!! (Veteran's Day for our neighbours south of the border). Saluting each and every veteran out there. Thank you for our freedom!

So the plan today was to meet my parents in Coquitlam for lunch. I woke up semi early to make pulled pork in the crock pot for tonight's dinner. I am loving my slow cooker! :)

Anyway, we were supposed to hit up Lee's Electronics on the way so that Bobby could exchange something, but Lee's is closed today... so we hit up Coquitlam Centre first so that I could hit up Target to buy some necessities (conditioner, shower curtain liner, electronic toothbrush head replacements.... and reindeer ears for Kiwi/Chaos). The reindeer ears Kiwi absolutely hates so it is likely going back... Anyway, so after the quick 20 minute power shopping trip at Target, Bobby and I met my parents at a new Japanese restaurant near Coquitlam Centre. The food was pretty good. I especially liked how they had specialty rolls similar to the ones in Sushiholic in Vancouver.

After lunch, Bobby and I went back to Coquitlam Centre so that I could pick up my Christmas present from Bobby. Bobby got me a new parka.. I'll be needing a new winter coat for here, but mostly for when we are in New York late next month. I got the Community Paradigm Parka in black from Aritzia. You can shop the blog here: http://aritzia.com/Community-PARADIGM-PARKA/22732,default,pd.html?dwvar_22732_color=1274#start=9 I

I absolutely love this parka... Bring on the rain, Vancouver... I'm ready for you ;)

After the second trip to the mall, we went to my parents' house for a bit to drop off my old desk that I am donating to them.We hung out for a bit but had to leave shortly. We still had a couple of things to do on our to-do list for today and I had to be back at my place at a certain time to check up on the pulled pork. Our next stop was the John B Pub in the west Coquitlam area so that I could pick up two beer advent calendars (one for Bobby and one for my brother). I bought them last year's edition and it was a hit with both of them so I figured I would get them this year's calendar as well. Last year it was craft beer from Europe, and this year it's from North America.... Merry Christmas and bottoms up, guys!

The trunk was pretty full from other things so we had to safely buckle these two giant boxes into the back seat!

My brother is away and I have his spare keys so that I can water his plants and pick up his mail... so we went to his place to drop his beer off. It'll be a nice surprise for when he gets home!

A close up of the 2013 North American Craft Beer advent calendar

Home now, enjoying the aroma of pulled pork slow cooking... watching Friends reruns while relaxing.

I hope everyone had a relaxing, fun, safe and reflective Remembrance Day long weekend!

Downtown Vancouver living means...

Day 211

...tight living quarters... which means this Charlie Brown tree is perfect every year!!

This Charlie Brown tree Bobby bought for us three years ago actually only came with one ornament (the red ball). But over the years, we've accumulated more: The starbucks one (from Starbucks - duh!) and the hedgehog one (from Chapters). There's actually a 4th ornament, you can barely see the snowman in the middle of the tree (gifted to me from a previous work Secret Santa).

Update:

So we had brunch/lunch with Brad, Ja and Luca at Craft in the Olympic Village. Good food and great beer! I had this amazing beer that was more champagne like than beer and it was so awesome! Anyway, great times hanging with them, and especially Luca who I only get to see once a month. Afterward, they helped Bobby with his school project (you can read about it on Bobby's blog: http://bobbobblogs.blogspot.ca) and then we went our separate ways. Bobby and I went home to relax.. We are watching Thor 2 tonight! 

Girl night in

Day 210

Emotional day today due to lady issues. I picked up this super sparkly nail polish today at Sephora and I am having a me time in tonight.... loving this colour! Will be perfect for this holiday season!

Facebook stalking made easy... for the middle aged and elderly!

Day 209

Spotted this fantastic book at Michaels today:

What a great stalking... I mean, stocking present for Christmas ;)

Another day, another deal

Day 208

In case it hasn't been obvious, I hate paying full price for things... especially things at Michael's. As previously mentioned, I just got back into scrap booking (an expensive pass time!)... This Christmas season, Bobby and I are going to Orlando to celebrate Christmas with his family, and then we are going to New York for New Years. I have been lurking around the scrap booking sticker aisles at my local Michael's for some New York and Orlando stickers. They are regularly 6.99$ a package which I think is ridiculous because they are STICKERS for crying out loud... Shouldn't they only cost a few dollars at most?? Anyway, every week Michael's has a 40% off coupon for regular priced items... but even with 40% off, the stickers are not worth it... Anyway, today, Michael's had a 60% off coupon for the total purchase of regular priced stickers so I bought TWO for less than the price of what one would've cost!! YAY ME! Sadly, because I bought these stickers at overpriced Michael's, they probably still made a 50% mark up even with the severe discount.

Normal in my household

Day 207

I woke up really early today, so I made myself oatmeal. While poking around in my kitchen, I found a pair of Bobby's socks in a ziploc bag in the liquor cabinet.... um.... what?!

UPDATE: So I asked Bobby why he had socks (and a t-shirt, and a hunting knife and a bag of granola bars) hidden in the liqour cabinet... apparently he had emptied out his hiking back pack and shoved everything in this cabinet because "no one ever looks there". Well I certainly proved him wrong.... I SEE ALL, BOBBY!!!

Beouf avec Shoppers!!

Day 206

I went to Shoppers today on my lunch break because I needed to pick up some allergy medicine. I specifically went to Shoppers because I have 30$ worth of Optimum points that I wanted to use in lieu of my own money. So I picked up my Reactine and I handed over my coupon and I told the cashier that I wanted to redeem my points. Sooo, she redeems my points and then tells me that because I spent less than 30$, I would have to forfeit the balance (1.66$ which is negligible really) OR I could buy something else. I asked if I could get the balance on a gift card instead - apparently not, which is the most bizarre thing ever! I mean seriously! How hard is it to redeem my points onto a gift card, and then use my gift card for a purchase (LIKE ALL THE OTHER STORES WITH POINTS CARDS DO)? I don't know if the lady was just confused, lazy, stupid, whatever. In any case, I opted to wander the store some more in order to exceed 30$ for this purchase.. and because I am PMS-ing, I ended up buying Doritoes.... UGHHHH

PS, and now the whole world knows that my French is comparable to a that of a 2 year olds ;)