Sunday, October 20, 2013

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


Lots of Crab Fishing This Fall 2013: Dungeness Crab and Red Rock Crab

I have never been interested in Fishing or Crabbing before.  I know crabs are not cheap in Canada but eating crabs is a chore for me, so we do not buy it often.  Hearing stories from a friend, I started trying out crabbing and fishing.

I found couple of spots in Belcarra and Burnaby, BC.

There are two kinds of crabs you can catch in Canada:  Dungeness Crab and Red Rock Crab.

BC Dungeness Crab with baby Sea Star
Dungeness Crabs (see above) are brownish crabs range up to 25cm.  They live in the shores from BC to California.  The name dungeness is from a small town in Washington State, USA.  In BC, they have to be bigger than 16.5cm to be caught (male only).

Red Rock Crab
Red Rock Crabs are smaller with thick shells.  They don't have as much meat but the taste of meat is sweet and delicate.  They have huge arms relatively to their body.  They are quite strong fighters armed with thick claws.  (That is why they can survive within crowds of Dungeness Crabs.)

(see above) I have caught big Red Rock Crabs before....they are strong!  If you get caught in the claws, it feels like your finger is jammed by the door.  It stings for 10 minutes....

Sometimes, you will see barnacles and sea stars on the shells of crabs:

Small sea star on crab
Seals will dive into the water while we are crabbing.  They can break our crab net and eat the chicken meat in the traps.  They got us so many times:

Naughty Seals
They will just pop out of the water for a minute, and they will dive for 5 minutes to search for food.

Lots of crabs on a sunny day
On a good nice sunny warm day, we can get quite a lot of catch in the trap!

Of course, we have to release the undersize crabs.

So far, my kids love eating them, so we are trying to go catch them whenever we have couple of hours.

Monday, June 3, 2013

Restaurant: Yan's Garden in Burnaby, BC

A day before New Year's Eve, I went to Yan's Garden and ordered some Chinese food take out.

I have never tried this restaurant and thought year end is a good time to do it.

Yan's garden burnaby fried rice beef soup

They food looked very good and there were no tax for take out (and no tip either)!

All the food were really good.
The Yanjou Chaufan was amazing.  The beef gelatin soup was really good, too.
It is way better than all the food court food or T&T take out.
Of course, it has to be.

The price was not all unaffordable either.
I only paid 27 dollars for all items above and I would go back anytime....

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!

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Restaurant: Shiro Sushi Vancouver

Shiro Sushi is one of the real Japanese restaurant on Cambie.
We went there this spring before we had to Oakridge Mall  in Vancouver.

Shiro Sushi Vancouver
The sushi and Nigiri both taste very nice and authentic, not the North American taste.
Lunch set also offers good value and came with a huge "Pocky" chocolate stick.

The staff were friendly on the phone and in person, and I will go there again.

Target Canada's Signs "Target Loves Canada"

Target already opened a few Canadian stores.
Here are its marks during constructions in Coquitlam.

"Target Loves Canada".

Target Loves Canada signs

Lego Sorting Trays for Special Parts

People say kids would like what parents like.  My kids started to get a taste of Lego's basic sets.

We found these sorting trays in Fred Meyer's in Washington State, and they are very useful in sorting all the basic and special Lego parts.


Lego Sorting Trays for special parts


Taiwanese Tea and Tea Pot

To make tea is an art in East Asia.
Tea pots are also art objects, which cost from 1 dollar to millions.
In ancient times, it is said that one rare teapot is worth a castle.

Nice Taiwanese Teapots, tea storage, cup
Taiwanese people, like Japanese people, really appreciate good fine tea.
When my aunt came over this January, she gave us really nice tea pot set.
She is very knowledgeable in tea art and culture.  I am totally an amateur.
However, the bottom tray is made of bamboo and worth more than 100 dollars.

Taiwanese Tea pot set
This set is at last worth 500 dollars, which is amazing that anyone would gave it to us.
We really appreciate this.

She also sent us a package of extra fine tea:
High Quality Organic Oolong Tea Taiwan
The maker of this fine Oolong tea owns his own organic tea farm, and is very famous among tourists.
Depending on grades and weight, one package can easily cost over 100 dollars.

Monday, April 1, 2013

Trader Joe's Garlic Hummus Dip and Corn Chips

We got Trader Joe's Organic Yellow Corn Tortilla Chip Rounds and Garlic Hummus Dip to try.


Trader Joe's Garlic Hummus Dip

We have never try Garlic Hummus Dip before, and it did taste delicious!
The taste of the dip actually merges very well with the corn chips.

I was pleasantly surprised!


Product Review: Trader Joe's 4 Croissants

In January, we got this from Trader Joe's.  4 Chocolate Croissants.


Trader Joe's Croissants

It was interesting because you need to take them out of the box, leave them out overnight, and they will "grow" bigger after you wake up.  Sounds funny....but it is interesting.

Here is the pictures of them.

Then, you baked them...
Then, we get the breakfast with croissants...they are absolutely delicious!!!!
They taste better than a lot of croissant outside and do not cost you 2 dollars per croissant.


Twinkle Toof for Kids Losing Teeth

One thing happened during the first 3 months is that my older kid is losing his teeth.

To celebrate this event, I have order the Twinkle Toof box for him from the US.

It looks very cute, glows in the night, and I have always wanted it.


I remembered that it was about 10 to 12 dollars including shipping.
However, it beats drive down to the US just to buy this....even though it would save me 5 dollars...

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...

Sunday, January 13, 2013

New Year's Sunrise 2013

This New Year's weather has been very nice to us.

My wife took couple of spectacular pictures of the morning sunrise.

sunrise 2013
Beautiful sunny sky.
sunrise  burnaby 2013

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

Christmas Gifts: Innotab and Mario Kart 7

I bought my two kids Christmas gifts that they have to learn how to share.

They are loving these gifts.  It is still a little early for my 2-year-old to play the kids tablet.

Inno Tab and Mario Kart 7

They are loving the tablet, Innotab 2, right now because they can buy different learning games such as Mickey Mouse or Cars or all kinds of other children animations.

My older kid loves to play Mario.  I try not to let him play during the weekdays though because I know it is not good for kids to play that much.

I hope this has been a good Christmas for my kids, and I think they had a lot of fun!

Tim Horton's Mug Cup

I bought my wife a Tim Horton's mug cup for Christmas because she likes to collect mug cup.

Tim Horton's Mug Cup
Tim Horton's Mug Cup 2
It actually comes with Tim Horton's Coffee!
Now, that is a bonus....haha.

Trader Joe's Peppermint Macarons

I found this new Macaron dessert from Trader Joe's during Christmas season.

Trader Joe's Peppermint Macarons
It does taste very good with fresh peppermint flavor!

However, I do like the original macaron better because they have more flavors within the boxes.

Trader Joe's Peppermint Macarons 2
It is good for a Christmas snack with family!

Friday, January 4, 2013

Boxing Day Canada 2012: Coach Tablet Case

We got a great deal from the Bay during Boxing Day!

The Coach tablet case retailed for more than 88 dollars regularly.

However, we got it for less than half that price! (Tax included)

Coach Tablet Case
It is perfect for the new tablet for my wife!
Coach Tablet Case 2
Here is the inside look.  It has many compartments for pen and notebooks and lots of padding.
I was surprised that even the Coach brand was on sale.

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Christmas Sale: Portmeirion Crazy Daisy Fork Set

I found a fork set in Sears for a good deal.

It is a cute Crazy Daisy fork set made by Portmeirion Pottery.

Portmeirion Crazy Daisy Fork Set
The design is good and quality is not bad.  The price was a decent 12 dollars.

(Regular price was around 22 dollars Cdn.)

Portmeirion Crazy Daisy Fork Set 2
The pattern for each fork is actually designed differently, which is unique.

X'mas Gift for Chihuahua: Pet Ottoman House

I bought an Ottoman house for my little chihuahua babies.

They need something like that to protect them from my monkey kids...haha

Pet House Ottoman from London Drugs Canada

This is bought from London Drugs in Burnaby, BC.
It can be a space saver and can fit two small dogs or a medium dog.

My kids often step on my dogs when they run around my house, so this is good safety feature for doggies.
(Perfect Christmas Gift).

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!

Sunday, December 16, 2012

H&M Kids Star Shirt

My son's class has a Christmas concert this month, and we needed to get him a shirt for that.

We found a nice kids' shirt in H&M.

H&M Kids dots shirt
It has nice cute little stars on the shirt which can be used in formal or semi-formal occasions.

H&M Kids star dots shirt 2


Starbucks: Lemon Cranberry Scone

Starbucks came out with this Lemon Cranberry Scone that my wife loves:

Starbucks Lemon Cranberry Scone

It tastes very good that she looks for them when we go to the malls.


Our New Bionaire Flat Panel Heater

We have been without a heater for 2 years because our last one broke down.

We decided to get a flat panel one this year.
It also acts as a decorating fireplace and it is a good looking piece in the living room.

Bionaire heater and chihuahua
My chihuahuas will love the heater since they are afraid of cold.

The fireplace light is powered by halogen bulb, not exactly power efficient, but I am looking at options to change it to LED.

Nexus 7 Google Android Tablet

My laptop has been slow and I have always wanted a top quality portable tablet.
It is hard to carry around my heavy laptop.

Since iPad is expensive because of the 40 percent mark up apple charges, the next choice is no doubt, Nexus 7 made by Asus.

It is arguably the best 7 inch tablet:  Powered Android 4.2, CPU is a quadcore 1GB ram.

The option of 32 GB harddrive is only for 270 Canadian plus tax.
(You get superb performance for this price.)

Nexus 7 Boxes Asus 2012
An iPad mini would have cost me 429 dollars each for a 32gb model.
Well, you know are you paying more than 150 dollars per tablet for Apple's profits.

I don't want to "donate" to apple right now, so I chose the Nexus 7.

Nexus 7 Google 32GB
The performance is indeed superb with lots of apps to download.
For someone who wants mobility and bigger screen size than a cell phone, this is perfect!

With Wifi available everywhere (except for on the bus), this is sure going to be very useful!

FatBurger: Coquitlam, BC, Canada

Fatburger is a popular burger chain restaurant that sells high end burgers.

They have several restaurants in Vancouver area and recently opened one near my place.
We haven't been there for a while and we went to try this location out.

As usual, the burgers are so fresh and the service is superb!!

You line up to make your orders, but they take the food to your seats.
Also, there is no obligation to give tips compared to other restaurants.
(because your serve your own drinks.)
awesome!

The food was impressive as usual.  Many would argue burger is a burger, but theirs is better than others.
(Even better than other restaurants like White Spot or Red Robbins.)

I give them a two thumbs up!

Vancouver: Imported Japanese Mandarin Oranges

We all know Japan produces the highest quality of fruits for the types they can produce.

In Vancouver area, we found a box of these imported Japanese oranges from Japan in Kin's Farm.


Imported Original Japanese Mandarin Oranges
Amazingly, these were nicely individually wrapped and are delicious.
Mandarin Oranges individually wrapped from Japan
Good quality indeed!!