it's finally happened...

...i've met a spa i didn't like. being the spa-junkie i am, i thought i'd never see this day :P

on november 3 (after much planning and discussing), vanessa, priscilla, dawn and i were spending the day together for our DOF (day of fun - aka, celebrating our 30th birthdays). we started off at 11 a.m. for brunch at elixir. the restaurant was very quiet, only a few other diners, and it was wonderful. i really enjoyed my smoked sablefish hash, and while it wasn't completely filling (and i appreciate the server warning me in advance), it did allow me room for cheesecake for dessert :-) mmmm!

since we were in yaletown we did a bit of window shopping before heading to south granville. this day was about trying different things, so we had appointments at miraj hammam, a middle eastern spa. as soon as we arrived, we were taken into the co-ed changing rooms (no men were present when we arrived), showered, and wrapped in our sarongs. the 4 of us hopped into our private steam room and steamed for (what seemed like) a really long time. it wasn't just your average steam room...no no no, this room was hotter than hot! and it was infused w/citrus-y fragrances. i'm very funny...i don't like heat, but i love to suntan; i don't like saunas but i love hot tubs. anyhoo, this steam room was so steamy you couldn't see more than a foot in front of your face, and it was incredibly hot. after about 10 minutes, my body had adjusted to the intense heat. one-by-one we were taken out of the steam room and had our exfoliation treatments. did i mention we were naked?! um yah. that was definitely different.

after the exfoliation, we were taken into private rooms for our massage or facial treatments. by this time, i had a headache...not a good sign :( the facialist was hoping that a temple massage might help, but alas it didn't. then i thought the sweet tea and cookie might make me feel better, but no such luck. i did manage to sneak in a quick little nap in the relaxation lounge! unfortunately my day came to an end shortly afterwards...i was feeling quite ill by then and headed home. good thing too, because i got sick shortly after :-( i was terribly upset because i missed out on dinner at sanafir.

stupid spa...made me sick. i'm never going there again. i even kept myself hydrated. i had exercised in the morning and had about 3 cups of water and then in the steam room i drank more water to keep myself cool. such a shame. the others were fine, so it was just me who suffered. so sad. well, at least i can say i tried something different, out of my usual comfort zone.

happy halloween!

nugget and i are all decked out in our football finest! we're definitely quite a pair :-) nugget won the best-dressed dog contest at class last night. whoo-hoo!

smells good!

i wish i could electronically store a smell. because then i would have posted it on my blog! 3 nights in a row i've cooked up a storm. i love my crabcakes from monday night, but tonight the kitchen smelled ridiculously good...meatloaf, cheesey scalloped potatoes and cauliflower. the combo of the meat and potatoes was incredible...i would make it again tomorrow just so i could smell it. i think it's mostly the garlic i was smelling :P

when i find a recipe i really like, with ingredients i can pronounce and easily find at the grocery store, cooking is just so much more enjoyable. it's been 3 nights in a row and i've even had leftovers for my lunch. i'm cheating tomorrow and buying bbq pork from chong-lee...but that's cuz i'm eating solo, and i have a tendency to cook for 5...i can't help it. i have no excuse not to cook this weekend, so i'm going to look up some more recipes...i might even try one from sparkpeople.

*confession time* after plugging in my meals from today, i had way more fat than i should have. the unfortunate thing with sparkpeople is that you have to select from the list of food entered into their system...the "canadian version" of food isn't available (i.e. sun-rype juice), so then i have to pick what i think is the equivalent (i.e. minute-maid juice). also, scalloped potatoes was generic...i couldn't really modify it to say i used 1% milk instead of homo milk and i would have to add cheese separately. also, the meatloaf was pretty generic i think...i couldn't modify it to say extra-lean ground beef. but i'm just using it as a guideline for now. i'm more interested in finding healthy in-between snacks anyways.

a new form of exercise

so, i've been the happy owner of the wii for over 10 months now. i've only just decided that it will be my new form of exercise. i guess the real motivator was when i bought dance dance revolution. it incorporates dancing w/your feet as well as using hand motions w/the remote and nunchuk. last night i really had my heartrate going as i accidentally selected a skill level that was slightly out of reach :P

today i took a break, and just played some wii sports. apparently i have the fitness level of a 74-year-old. definitely not a good sign. i'm going to work on my skills and hopefully bring myself down to a 29-year-old before my 30th birthday :-)

in another healthy step in the right direction, i created an account on sparkpeople.com. it basically allows you to track what you've been eating, and how good/bad it is for you. it also includes a menu planner to help you get all the nutrition you need per day. the fitness category shows how many calories you're burning each day, and you can select from a variety of activities. unfortunately the wii isn't one of them, so i have to estimate how much i've exercised. it also allows you to set short/long-term goals for yourself, and it customizes your plan automatically.

this is not my first attempt at doing something good for my body, but hey, i'm into fads and we'll see how long this holds up for. i tracked everything i ate yesterday: calories - 94 over the limit; carbs - on the high end of the limit; fat - right in the middle; and protein - on the low end. this weekend i'll try to do some grocery shopping and stock up on some healthier snacks. i'm taking baby steps - i'm not going to cut anything from my eating habits yet, but i'm going to try to make healthier choices. i've bought the oatmeal-to-go cereal bars...in hindsight it's not the healthiest bfast choice, but far better than the date bar or caramel apple bars or coffee cakes that i've been buying.

wish me luck!

time to catch up!

i've been at a loss for words lately. it's been a very overwhelming 3 weeks, and i could never figure out how to start a blog entry. but now, for the most part, life is chugging along as it should.

it all started when my grandma was hospitalized for a week...she was having heart problems and had fluid around her lungs. it's not the first time it's happened, but at her age, a big big concern. after that my mother-in-law was hospitalized w/appendicitis...there were some complications that arose and the family rallied together. good news is that she's at home and recovering for the next 6 weeks. then we had to say farewell to keah :-( she was a good girl who lived a long happy life. i have lots of pictures and fond memories to look back on. and to top off the 3 weeks, my grandma is back in the hospital because she's having digestion problems now. we saw her today, and she's looking normal and happy, so hopefully she'll be discharged within the week. she's got a kick-ass view of downtown from her room, plus a tv and a phone! not that it helps her out since she can't watch the japanese channels ;-)

so needless to say, i really don't need to see any hospitals for a long long long time.

at least in-between all the chaos, chris and i got away to victoria for an overnight trip. i forgot that i had "won" a getaway to victoria at the benefits of caring fundraiser last year, so we quickly booked it before it expired on november 1. so the 3 of us hopped in the car and ferried our way to the island. nugget was an excellent dog on the trip - well-behaved on the ferry, he slept on his blanket in the hotel room, and he was well-mannered in the many restaurants we hit. while we were in victoria, we also bought nugget his halloween costume! he's going to be a football player :-) it was nice to get away and just forget about everything, even though it was only for 24 hours.

farewell keah, my puppy girl

i hope doggy heaven treats you well. none of my PADS puppies will ever replace you. i miss you keah-girl!

christmas 2002 - look at my presents! yup, that's my piggy :-)













moving day 2004 - don't leave me behind!










wedding day 2005 - our family together

"all in" for united way

here i am, stuck in the office on a beautiful friday afternoon right before the long weekend. it's just wrong! so, i'm gonna leave a bit early and take nuggers to the doggy park! fun times :-)

anyways, last week we had our annual united way fundraising campaign for united way. our 3rd annual poker tournament against our competitors was held last night. we had 40 people turn out for the event, and over $1,500 in pledges was raised for the united way. my 1st year playing in the tournament was nerve-racking...it was my first tournament. i missed the 2nd year due to a conflict. so last night i was all geared up and ready to win! but i didn't. i was the 2nd person kicked out at our table...only took 15 minutes :P my pocket queens got beat out by a girl w/ace nine off-suit...she ended up with 2 full houses. beesatch.

anyways, our firm was well-represented at the final table though and one of our own managed to win the tournament! yah! in her 1st "real" tournament, debbie came in 3rd place...not too shabby! and matt won the prize for most pledges collected :-) all-in-all, it was a fun evening, and everyone came out to support a great charity. i can't wait for next year's tournament...i think i need a bit more practice though.

happy thanksgiving everyone!

catching up, and why "it's all about ME"

i can't believe it's been so long since my last post. i'm not really sure what we've been up to that i don't have time for an entry. what's been going on...

• the start of regular dinner's w/chris' family
• angela's wine & cheese bridal shower, hosted by sandra, pauline, and amy
• dinner w/my family to celebrate our 2 year anniversary :-)
• dinner w/friends
• angela & ryan's wedding

so, i have to elaborate on my day yesterday. on friday night, nugget was picked up for a weekend away from home with a puppysitter. taking full advantage of my "freedom", i finally used my gift certificate for spa utopia...i booked myself the utopia signature facial (as usual, i fell asleep) and the exclusive utopia manicure - 2.5 hours of bliss for me :-) what could be better? due to some poor planning on my part, i'm actually having another facial in 2 weeks. it appears as though i let a few gift certificates slip through the crack, so i have to cram everything in before november 1!

enough about me! in addition to yesterday being my dad's birthday, we were out witnessing and celebrating angela & ryan's marriage. i actually didn't take too many pictures cuz my battery started to die (argh!), plus, my camera is old and slow, so nothing really worked for me (guess i really do need to upgrade soon). also it appears as though several other friends took lots of pictures, so i'm sure they'll end up on facebook soon enuf ;-) the wedding took place at the fairmont hotel vancouver - what a beautiful setting for their wedding. everything was so elegant, from the colour scheme ang (and ryan) picked, the flowers (elizabeth tse does AMAZING work, and i'm honoured that my own wedding flowers made 2 appearances on her website), the banquet room, and of course, angela was a gorgeous bride!

and no wedding is complete without speeches! i swear, the only time i cry during weddings is when speeches are being made - it never fails - but i think this is the most i've cried at a wedding before. ryan and ang had me tearing up (that's when i discovered my mascara isn't very waterproof :P) and cracking up. i hope ryan's "oh shit!" remark gets edited out of the wedding video! also, i think this is one of the few weddings i've attended where both the bride and groom shed tears. i think that made me cry even more! next time, no mascara!

then came the drinking. and more drinking. it wasn't a pretty sight by the bar. but, it was all in good fun, and everyone enjoyed themselves and got home safely! and that's it for my 2007 weddings!


and now after a very busy week, it's time i resume cooking.

blimey! it's the never-ending week :(

sigh...it's been quite a week. i swear, the days go by slow and the nights just fly by.

it started out great on sunday with a visit from natasha. she came over to play with nugget...fortunately he had just been to the doggy park and was somewhat more laid back than usual.

monday night puppy-cuddling has temporarily resumed again, as 2 of the girls were taken from their puppyraisers and are waiting for new raisers. my girl cary is one of them :( she's so lovely, and i truly believe she remembers me. at least she has a playmate in grace...the 2 of them together are quite a pair! (i found out that one of the dogs gave birth on tuesday, so i'm looking forward to 8 new puppies at PADS in november!)

ah tuesday. what a day that was :P right before lunch the fire alarm went off (there was in fact a small fire that set off the alarms), and nugget and i had to evacuate the building along with everyone else. 19 flights of stairs w/me and the dog. well, of course a small disaster happened. the stairs were a bit slippery for my boy, so his paws didn't grip very well and he slipped, then i pulled him back so he wouldn't fall down the entire flight, and then sure enough i fell down myself. fortunately i only fell down 2 steps on my bum-bum, and i was even more thankful that i had some of my co-workers around me (god forbid anything bad should happen to me and nugget). the next 15 flights of stairs were fairly uneventul. of course, the pain kicked in later that day :( in the evening we took nuggers to class, where chris was in control cuz i was in too much pain by that point. i wouldn't have been able to control nugget w/his friends all around him.

it seems as though nugget is eating a lot of bark at the doggy park. it was only a matter of time before he suffered the consequences...yes, he threw up overnight :P twice. fortunately it wasn't as bad as the time we had fraser who peed, pood and barfed in one night. so on wednesday night after another trip to the doggy park, we threw nugget into our bathtub for a cleaning. boy, does he look young and handsome now!

onto a more "me" topic...i finally went to kin's tonight and i stocked up on fruit: green grapes, white peaches, organic bananas, and asian pears. tomorrow's going to be a kick-ass breakfast!

2 years of wedded bliss ;-)

hahaha! who am i kidding?! j/k!

it's hard to believe that it's been 2 years since chris and i got married. as i think back, a couple things haven't changed: the weather at 6 a.m. is the same as 2 years ago...wet and not really sure if the sun is going to make an appearance; and i'm sick...2 years ago i was just getting over a cold - i blamed that on wedding stress.

so, what has changed? not a whole heck of a lot i guess. chris and i are now responsible "parents", nugget's life lies in our hands whereas 2 years ago i owned fighting fish which died shortly after purchase :P i guess that's it. i don't feel any older, i don't look any older. well, sometimes i feel old...like when i go to bed at 11 p.m. on a friday night :P

ah well, happy 2nd anniversary to me & chris :-) to celebrate, we're doing absolutely nothing. well that's not entirely true...i'm going to play with the puppies tonight! then we're having nachos for dinner. maybe we'll dine by candlelight. on second thought...there's not enough room on the tv table for a candle :P