Paul Frank Boy's Boots

We went to Target this weekend and found this pair of cute boots from Paul Frank:

We also found "Hiro", the engine from the new Thomas movie.

For a year, we have been trying to find it in Canada, but it was not available.

Of course, if we head to the States, we might find it.

El Tapatio in Bellingham, Washington, USA

El Tapatio is a Mexican food stand we like to visit for 5 dollar burritos and Mexican pop.
They also sell delicious tacos and Mexican coke (believe me, it tastes different)

We ordered burrito and orange soda last weekend and it was very tasty!
They also opened up a new restaurant but we haven't try yet.

My Shoes for Work

Last week, I found that my shoes are so worn out at the bottom but I never noticed it.
The shoes are only two year old, however, there was a huge 5cm round hole.

I have been buying pins and I feel that I should have spent on clothing and my family instead of spending on pins.  With the Olympic fever gone, I am hoping my spending pattern returns to normal.
We don't have money, so I need to manager budget wiser.

My goal this year is to replace my crappy mattress. 
We will see how that will go.

Strange Fruits while shopping in the States

We went to Cost Cutter in Bellingham, Washington this past weekend.
We actually saw tropical fruits and vegetable not sold in Canada and thought that was interesting.
They might be Mexican?  or from Texas?

There was Aloe and some pumpkin like fruit...? and yam?? and cactus???

I am from the North, so I don't know what the fruit on the left is.  It looks like the munching piranha flower from Super Mario. haha....

Vancouver Paralympic: Wheelchair Curling

We went to see Paralympic Curling last week and enjoyed every minute of it.
It is at the Vancouver Paralympic Centre

The atmosphere is Olympic-like and everyone was patriotic, rooting for their countries.
A Japanese delegation member handed us a Japanese fan to support the team.

Canada won at the last rock of the last game.  It was awesome!!
Everyone was cheering and I was impressed at the skill level of the Paralympic Atheletes.
We wanna try curling now.

Dairy Queen: Sundae and Mocha

Amazingly, I don't go to Dairy Queen at all.  Last weekend was my first time trying and I liked it!
The sundae tastes delicious!

The texture of the sundae and the taste is way better than Ikea or Mcdonald's frozen yogurt.

Vancouver Olympics: Waterfront, Media Centre and Olympic Sign

Here are a few pictures during the Olympic peak period around Waterfront and the Media Centre:

The above is a view of the new Convention Centre.

The above is a picture of the olympic rings.

Canada Place served as the media centre.  Only media personnel can enter this building.
There were thousands of foreign reporters working there everyday during the games.

Vancouver Olympics: Korea House

ituated at Hyatt Hotel, people said Korea House is boring.

But, as a pin collector, I think it is very friendly.

Hostesses greet you and you can trade pins with her.
There is a free drink bar and promotional video plus free beads if you wait in line.

Samsung House is for business associates, so it is not open for public.  They do have parties everyday.

Vancouver Olympics: Robson Square

I have gone downtown almost every weekend since January, sometimes 4 times a week. 
Robson Square and Granville Street are usually filled with crowds, shoppers, performers and spectators. 

This lady moves like a robot / statue.  There was also Elvis the following week.

I love this international atmosphere and I wish this party mood will never disappear.

Olympic Hockey: Czech vs Latvia

I went to a hockey game during the Olympics.  It is not a Canada game, but a Czech vs Latvia game.  I love the international mood!  People are festive and passionate, cheering for their own teams. 

GM Place is a beautiful venue to be in.

There were live broadcast from SportsNet and fans with big flags waving.   I just love this atmosphere.

More importantly, I saw Jamir Jagr, the Czech Hockey Legend.  I was very excited about that.
He score a goal, too.

There are also Jerseys for auction:

Power Smart Village: BC Hydro Pavilion

Here, at Power Smart Village, if you sign up for Team Power Smart, they actually give you free Olympic pins, which only take two minutes. 
I love collecting things and I love free pins, so we got a few more pins and traded for other types of pins.

Pin trading makes things quite fun and can be free.  If you start collecting rare or popular pins, it becomes costly.

Olympic Mascot Sumi

We were walking around downtown today and Sumi, the mascot of Paralympic Games were taking photos with people.
We were lucky enough to take a picture with it.
 

 We went to the Royal Canadian Mint Pavilion again to do the coin exchange, and they actually had 3 kinds of coins today.
We got coins for curling, sledge hockey and the Inukshuk lucky loonie.
The line up today for seeing the medals were 4 hours at 2:00pm.  Pretty crazy I would say.

Vancouver Olympics: Manitoba Pavilion and lots of free pins

We also went to the Manitoba Pavilion today and got some free pins and a toy for my son.  The pins we got are nicer than some of other pavilions. 
Inside is a promotional display for the new Human Rights Museum in Manitoba.

You can get free pins at Manitoba House, Canada House and Power Smart Village near Stadium Station.  We got so many today including RBC pins and post cards.

Vancouver Olympics: Canada House and Paralympics Pavilion

Today, we went all around downtown to see the sites we missed during the Olympics.  Tonight is the start of the Vancouver Paralympics Games and lighting of the cauldron.  We went to Canada House first and got some free stuff.

We also saw 100 torches and torch bearers and Vancouver Mayor, Gregor Robertson today:

It was the first time that so many torch bearers gather in one room in the Paralympics Pavilion

Strawberry Banana Smoothie in Starbucks Cup

My wife made strawberry banana smoothie herself and put it into a starbucks cup we got last year.
It looks tasty and my lucky son loves it!

Dawn with Olay

We bought the new product from the States two weeks ago: Dawn with Olay. 
It is not sold in Canada yet I think.
The touch of the liquid does feel different...

Found Mukmuk with Red Mitten

There is no doubt that Mukmuk is everyone's unofficial mascot and a Mukmuk plush toy is hard to come by nowdays.  However, we actually found Mukmuk in Downtown Vancouver's London Drugs in the weekend.
It is extra cute with red mittens.

I wonder how the native people would pronounce the word "Mukmuk"...people have different pronunciation for it.

Southeast Asian Coconut Curry

Every ethnic group has their own kind of spicy food or curry.  The Southeast Asian kind are sweeter because they might add coconuts in there.  It is very spicy as well, and I usually need a towel just to wipe the sweat while eating.

Bento Lunch Box: Tonkatsu Bento

Today's Bento is Tonkatsu Bento.  Deep Fried Pork Cutlet on rice.  There are variations of this: Chicken katsu, curry katsu, etc.