Kitchen Counter Re-Coating

 I redid my kitchen counter top (thin wood part) this winter.  I replace the varnish and coating because they were worn out like below:

I replaced it with a darker color and redid the waterproof coating:

BC Flood, Panic Buy and Food Shortage 2021 (Part 2)

 Today is November 25th, 2021, and it is already quite a few days after BC flood.  There is still nothing in Walmart in my area:

They say there is no supply shortage...not so sure..

There is still absolutely no meat:

There is no yogurt:

There is no milk and cheese:

There is no fries...but you see...lots of toilet paper in the reflections:

No meat still:

No chips....some chips I guess:

My favorite sauces are gone:

Even drano and cleaning supplies are out....

How long is it gonna take to restock these shelves?

My Grandma's Passing

On New Year's Eve, my dad's side's grandma passed away.

I was very shocked when I heard the news before boarding the bus to work.

Then, I called my father after arriving at the workplace.

I was very sad and I had to say I was relieved that no one came to work till 8:40 am on that day.

I had the time to washed my face and put eye drops in my eyes, but it was a difficult day for me.

Actually, it was a difficult week for me.  All the memories comes back all the sudden, and memories are what is left.

(Also, on a unrelated note, there was an earthquake near Vancouver the night before the eve.)

Happy 2016

It is 2016 already.

I think I won't get used to the number 2016 till March of this year.  It is still 2015 in my mind.

Every year seems to pass faster and faster especially with so many things going on.

This New Year's Eve, as previous year, we stayed home and watched fireworks on TV and on our balcony.  It is too cold and costly to go outside to celebrate.

As usual, we watched the annual "Kouhaku Utagassen" on Japanese channel in the evening.  Then, we watched Pitbull's live concert and New York's live count down on TV.

I hope this year is a prosperous and healthy year for everyone!

Scotiabank Half Marathon Vancouver 2013

This is a late post because I did not have time. (or don't feel like it...haha)  I ran the Scotiabank Half Marathon in June.

We were lucky because it was sunny in the morning, then it rained afterwards.
I went with my brother who refuse to train....He ran the 5K.  I ran the Half Marathon.

canucks Mason Raymond and fans half marathon

Afterwards, I saw a hockey player, Mason Raymond shaking people's hand...so I took this picture.
I am not really his fan, so I wasn't interested.

These fans really dressed up...haha...I don't think they ran the event.

scotiabank half marathon hockey fans

Anyway, my time was not fast but I am hoping that I will improve when I get older .....haha

Vancouver Marathon 2013

Life is full of challenges.  It should be anyways.
I have always wanted new challenges in my life, and it is time now to do it.

My goal was to do a marathon this year.  It will be my first time.
For months, since the freezing winter, I have been running 6 to 12k a time.
I know this is clearly not enough for marathon but I decided to go ahead.

Near Goal Line Vancouver marathon

I feel my ankles and hip joints were tight and hurt a little 15km into the race.  However, I thought I have no problem and can keep going.  However, eventually, the little pinching pain turn into sharp pain.  I might have injured my joints.

I had to stop running and stretch and walk and repeat for another 20km.
My time was okay for the first 20km but for the rest, it takes forever to walk the rest.
I would go to medical tent for medicine, stretching and for painkiller lotions to put on my legs.

I thought, I had time, I am going to finish this no matter what.

At the end, a Taiwanese women and I started chatting and kept each other going.

To my surprised, my wife and kids showed up later at the last stretch!
They really brought support for me, and the last 10 minutes was very enjoyable.

My time was terrible, and now, 5 weeks afterwards, my feet still hurts.
I might have to see a doctor.

However, I did it!  I am glad and proud that I did it.
My time was terrible but this won't be my last time to do a marathon!

It is already April Fools, 2013

I have not been able to blog too much this year.  It is already April!!
I can't believe it.

This year, the first 2 months is hectic because my kids kept getting sick.

Also, my aunt came for a visit from Taiwan this January, and it just feel busy this year.
I felt like life just passed by so quickly.

10 years feels like 10 days...and yet, each working day feels so long...

Christmas House Light in Burnaby, BC, Canada

There is a famous house in Burnaby that has been in the newspaper and has visitors visiting.

Fortunately, I live very close by and could bring my family and visitors to take a look!

All you need to do is to drop by and take pictures and donate a couple of dollars for Children's hospital.

The person spent about a week of his own vacation time and hand crafted some of the light designs.

He put up about 20,000 lights in and around his yard.

When I counted, there were about 11 snowmans all around the house and yard.

Even the garage, roof and drive way are heavily decorated with thousands of lights.
Amazing!

They had Santa, Angel, Penguins, everything you can think of for the Christmas season.

I hope they do this every year because it is neat sight to see!
I am not sure how they can pay the hydro bills or sleep in these lights. haha

Merry Christmas!! 2012

Merry Christmas to everyone!! Happy Holidays!

I can't believe a year is almost over and Christmas is here today.

I hope everyone is enjoying the gift exchanges and holiday meals!

I have to say sometimes I don't enjoy the exchanges but I do enjoy the holiday atmosphere.

It is scary that time passes by so fast!

Thanksgiving Dinner 2012 with Turkey

My wife cooks turkeys every year for Thanksgiving even though we only have 4 people in our family.

This year, too, we had turkey for Thanksgiving dinner.

Thanksgiving dinner 2012

Here is our dinner that we had:  Turkey, Spam Sushi, fries, macaroni, salads, Swedish meatball and sauces.

They were delicious as always!!  We need to get a turkey dish soon...

Laity Pumpkin Patch (Thanksgiving Weekend) 2012

It is that kind of the year already: Pumpkins, Halloween, Holidays, autumn....

It gives a feeling that a year is going to be over soon...
However!  We have awesome weather for fall this year!

I decided to take my kids to the pumpkin patch in Maple Ridge, BC this year.
I have never been there so I thought it would be great for everyone!

Laity Pumpkin Patch Maple Ridge

The weather is so good, and with mountain and blue sky, the picture turned out very good.

They have so much pumpkins in the patch, and it looked endless!
They came in all kinds of sizes, I picked a big one with 91 cm diameter. (26 inch)

My kids also had fun with the pumpkin patch.  They had kids area, petty zoos with animals and cartoon boards...etc

They also had a couple of turkeys on display.

Laity farm turkeys

Here are the cartoon characters:

Snoopy, charlie brown and pumpkins

Winnie the Pooh

Well, those are good ideas to attract families....
You do need to pay 4 dollars per person for tickets.

They don't have good corn field rides but they do have a small corn maze.

We had a good time, and I hope my kids would remember these times.

B'z North American Tour: Into Free 2012

We went to B'z live concert yesterday in Orpheum Theatre in downtown Vancouver!!

It was absolutely awesome!  I cannot believe the energetic, charismatic, cool rocker (Inaba) is actually 47 years old.  He should be 27 years old!!

The voice was absolutely powerful and the performance was impressive.
(I have never been to a live event but the background is sometimes overly loud that I can't hear the singing.)

The experience was absolutely awesome!!  I was even more impressed by the artists after the concert!

Here is the T-shirt I bought that Inaba wore in the concert:

B'z Into Free 2012 t-shirt

 They have so much energy! The theatre was small so we can actually see the band playing in front of us.

Awesome Extended Summer Weather 2012

Here in B.C, Canada, we are enjoying a good late summer weather this year.
Usually, it should be around 15 degrees by middle of September, but we are having great weather this year.

Bright blue sky with no clouds...wonderful.

We did not have a summer this year till the first day of August and the sun came out.
June was terrible and July was so so....with lots of clouds and rain.

I don't mind this late summer weather this year!

Kart Racing in Tsawwassen, BC, Canada

I have never tried kart racing before (only in theme parks), so I decided to try it for our birthdays!

With kids, I can only go on the double kart but we had lots of fun.

The double kart goes up to 50 km/hr but the smaller kart can go up to 80 km/hr.
I seemed so slow driving the double kart with people passing me all the time.

Kart racing tsawwassen

However, inside the kart, it feels fast even if it's 50 km/hr.

I would try it again when my boys are bigger, but the sport is costly.
It is around 25 dollars for 15 minutes...(and how do they measure that?)

The rental karts are basic and run down but some people bring their own fancy karts.
People also race bikes here....

My boy apparently enjoyed it as well even if he looked scared...haha

My Son's 5th Birthday Gifts: Mario Kart Bed Set

My son became 5 years old this August. 
Boy....where did my life go? So fast...

He looooves Super Mario, so we gave him the whole Mario Kart bedset.
He completes his room with mario figures, plush, poster, tissue box, turtle shells, blankets, cover, pillow...etc.
The whole package!!

He was really happy to get his customized bedroom for his birthday!!
(man...I wish I had that when I was young.  All these merchandizes were not there.)


Anyways, here is the Thomas the Train cake we ordered from Price Smart:

My son's 5 year old birthday cake and food

It is a nice cake considering the cake from Costco, Superstore and Safeway are absolutely disgusting and full with sugar.
The cream they use here are better and we get to choose the design!

My wife made a lot of wonderful dishes for him as usual!!

He enjoyed his birthday!
(so good to be a kid...well, as an adult..it is just very hard to enjoy birthdays for some reason. Not sure why.)

Canada Day July 2012 in Coquitlam, BC (Free Cupcakes)

This year, we decided to go to Coquitlam for Canada Day celebrations.

I have heard that they were are holding a well organized celebration around a lake park area near Coquitlam Town Centre.
Indeed, it was well planned and had entertainment for the whole family!

They had lots of food including restaurant vendors and kids play areas.
Here are pictures of some wild birds from a preservation society:

Coquitlam eagle

coquitlam owl

They also had lots and lots of free Canada Day cupcakes donated by a local cupcake company:

Free cupcakes for everyone in coquitlam bc canada

We waited around for 10 minutes with 40 other people and when it opens up around noon.
We all got our free cupcakes!!

lots of free cupcakes in canada day celebration 2012

Here is a close up photo for the free Canada Day cupcake:

canada day cupcake 2012

My kids love this company's cupcakes! 

Mr. Mike's 5 dollar burger

The local restaurant, Mr. Mike's, actually sold a big 5 dollar burger that was wonderful!!
It tastes like a 15 dollar burger and beats lots of other restaurant and fastfood chains' burgers.
It was amazing!! yummy!!

We also tried the Russian House Restaurant's Mushroom Wrap.
It was okay.  However, the food was over priced with the wraps going at 4 dollars....

We also got coupons from a local kids' company called "Koko's".

Overall, the weather wasn't the best but we will go back for more celebrations till the kids are big.

My Complaint About Canadian Medical System

So the story begins...
My younger son is absolutely hyperactive, and he often feels invincible.
During the usual marathon session of jumping everywhere, he fell from the sofa and bump his head.
Immediately, his head was bruised and became a big bump on his forehead.
We were worried and decided to bring him to the doctor or hospital for a check up.
(hoping for a X-ray...yah, like you are going to get it in Canada.  Free medical care means no care.)

So...Burnaby Hospital has an Urgent Child Care Unit for years for any emergencies for kids.
It was advertised that we can walk in anytime and it is open at night and weekends.
Great!  I thought this is a great service, and we could use that.

We arrived at the hospital around 6:45pm, and it was quiet (except for the emergency room).
The reception directed us to the 5th floor, and  we arrived at the big empty rooms with 3 smaller rooms.
The doctor was at the backroom and there was not a single patient.  You can hear a pin drop.
I said, "excuse me". The doctor came out. Great! I started explaining and showing her my son.
Then, she told me that the unit is no longer a walk in clinic. (Just changed recently...)
She said that I have to get a referral (most clinics are closed after 6) or go to the emergency department.
Or, she said, go to another clinic 25 minutes away...

I thought, "okay, so, this is not "Urgent" Child Care Unit at all!!!!
If it is urgent, why would people go get a referral and then come here?

We went down to the emergency, and there was a 4 hour wait...ridiculous.
I thought:  I am not gonna wait that long.  I am driving to another clinic.
So we found the clinic that the doctor was referring to and waited for another 20 minutes.

This time, a student doctor showed up and took a look at my son.
She pressed the bump head (ouch) and said there is no broken bones.
She told my son to walk around and said that he walks well with balance and has lots of energy.

"He is fine", she said.
We were relieve.  But hold on...
In other places in the world, the doctors will make sure by using x-ray and other equipment just to check.
In Canada, we have "free" care, so to save money, nothing.....no testing at all.
So...how can you say it is 100 percent okay?

I guess most of cases, the patients are okay.  You have to trust the doctors.

I am still amazed that the hospital is paying 150000 dollars a year at least for a doctor to sit around...

Milestone Reached: 500 Blog Posts of Our Journey of Life

Here is another small milestone for me and my little blog!
500 posts reached!

I didn't expect myself to blog this much and last this long.
I guess it had become some kind of diary for myself and my family.
Like many people's blogs, it documents our lives and shares them with people along the journey of life.

I will keep writing chapters and hope it gets more interesting...?

Spring 2012 Home Renovation

We had been working on home renovations this spring.
We worked on mostly our lighting in our washroom, living room and bedroom.

Here is our old bathroom light...very old panel and looked ugly:

old bathroom light panel

We spent quite some time deciding what light fixtures we wanted to change them to.
However, it was easy to install the new light fixtures.

New light fixture bathroom 2012

The living room light fixture and dimmer switch were not working very well.

Therefore, we decided to change them as well.
Amazingly, it was easy to change the light dimmer to a switch.

Here is the new living room chandelier we installed:

new living room chandelier

I think changing the light fixtures changes the mood of the room a little bit.
I guess it is good to do that once a while to freshen up the atmosphere.

I think we were tired for a couple of weekends...
Every weekend, it seems so busy and time passes by no matter what we do.

Maybe the kids make us busy....I am sure that is what it is.

oh well, such is life.

Toys R Us Canada: Free Lego and Duplo Easter Bunny Building Event

Toys R Us has special events at least 8 times a year.
A couple of times a year, they are Thomas the Train events, and the rest are Lego building events.
(They are usually for Mother's Day, Father's day, Spring, Winter...etc.  Search my other Lego blogs.)

Today's Lego and Duplo building event is for Easter Bunnies!  (Chicks for toddlers and babies.)

Lego Duplo free event toys r us Easter Bunny and chick

It think it is great that they have these special events.
Lego is expensive but you can get free pieces by attending these events. 

The kids can get entertained, too.
In the future, the kids can utilize the special parts to make other creative things.

Toys R Us free Lego event Easter bunny and chick

I wonder when is the next event...