Category Archives: Live

Armando’s Trip to the Barber

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ROCKPORT'S BARBERSHOP - NARA - 548244

ROCKPORT’S BARBERSHOP – NARA – 548244 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Could I possibly write another post of Armando’s hair, or lack there of? (see original post here).  Oh, yes I can!  My poor, dear hubby…he just gives me such fun stuff to write about!

So, it all started when I found out that he had an appointment with an Image Consultant who was a guest speaker at one of Armando’s MBA classes.  She had offered all the students a free consultation and  Armando took her up on her offer and booked an appointment.

After a one-hour session, he learned that it would take approximately $3000 for her expertise and $5000 for a new wardrobe to whip him into GQ shape.  I kyboshed that idea but did offer the alternative of paying me the $3000 and I could whip him into runway form but he didn’t go for it.

Instead, he decided to stop at the local barbershop.  He always trims/shaves his own hair so he figured if he got it professionally done, it would be a drop in the bucket of his recommended $8000 makeover.

It had been eons since he got his hair professionally cut so he took a quick glance at the price list before committing.  $18…perfect!  Armando loves the deals.

So after a wash, a clip and a shave, Armando walked up to the counter to pay for his newly clean-shaven look but when the girl said, “Fifteen dollars, please,” he was confused.  He was sure the adult price was $18.  As he looked at the price menu again, he noticed that the adult price was $18 but the senior rate was $15.  Senior rate!

I could not hold in my laughter when he told me!  Poor guy didn’t have enough hair to warrant the adult price.  Regardless, he’s on his way to GQ status and at a discounted rate!

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Annual Bear Sighting in Port Moody

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So, it looks like this may be an annual event…

After having just finished a late dinner before 9pm last May, we looked out our condo window and saw bears raiding the garbage bins across the street at our Port Moody Fire Department.

Today, it happened again.

Bear sighting at Port Moody Fire Department on May 7, 2013.

Bear sighting at Port Moody Fire Department on May 7, 2013.

Last year, my picture was picked up from my blog about the sighting by a local newspaper, The Coquitlam Now, and their article circulated throughout the online news outlets, from The Vancouver Sun to the Calgary Herald and even to a news site that translated it to Chinese, which by the way, when we google-translated it, they completely added their own flare to the story, including saying that I was from Montreal?!  Visited there once but, nope, never lived there.

Fortunately, it appeared that all bins were locked up this year so no garbage for Mr. Bear as the firemen scared him away into the bushes where I hope no evening walker got startled.

Yep, my after dinner walk just got cancelled tonight (Click to see my post on my bear fear).

 

Living Life (aka The Last Two Months in a Nutshell)

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Life’s been busy.  I’ve been frustrated that I haven’t had a chance to write about all that’s been going on these last two months so I thought I’d give a quick rundown to catch you up:

- I’ve been working two jobs
- survived Christmas season (and even did some baking along the way…my belly proves that!)
- travelled to Manitoba in the dead of winter to visit family (learned that Armando’s brain actually freezes at a certain point as his usually superior navigation skills were lost in the cold)
- travelled to Mexico to visit the in-laws and attend a wedding
- lived through a colonoscopy (was actually the first time I was ever in a hospital as a patient)
- got stung with the three-week cold and managed to live with a husband that was sick for four weeks!
Ice Hockey- Armando and I played in an ice hockey game for the first time ever and no broken bones!
- had dinner with friends in a pitch-black restaurant (Dark Table).  No lights.  Couldn’t see a thing.  You are served by blind waiters.  You can’t see what you are eating, let alone see where your fork is.  Was quite the experience!
- got my Nexus card (do I see shopping trips to the US in the future?!)
- had my first Rosca de Reyes and didn’t choke on the plastic baby Jesus!
- went to Vegas and learned to play Craps.  That game is so addictive!  (hence, the two jobs that I’m working. haha!)  Just jokes :)
- got free upgrades and experienced flying in 1st class for the first time with Air Canada – did you know that behind those curtains they have ice cream and freshly baked cookies, baked right on the plane and served hot?!?!
- finally bought a coffee table (Armando has yet to finish putting it together.  First he has to learn to read Chinese so he can understand the instructions.)
- Armando and I celebrated our one year anniversary!  Where did he take me?  To the food court at the airport in Mexico City for tacos.  An anniversary that I will always remember with fondness and laughter!

And those were just the sprinkles on the cake during the last two months.  I have been busy and tired but I realize that that’s just proof that I’m living.  And life’s too short to not live.

Don’t stay stationary.  Keep on moving forward.  Happy 2013!!  May it be full of life!

 

Salmon, Swans and Navigation in Port Moody

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The sun is actually out in Port Moody today.  A rare occasion this time of year so Armando and I headed out to enjoy a walk on this beautiful fall day around Burrard Inlet.

Along Inlet Trail, we often see ducks, seagulls, Blue Herons, slugs (eww!) and other regulars.  The last few weeks, we saw salmon swimming upstream.  What an amazing thing to see.  Talk about perseverance!  How they get to where they’re going is beyond me.  We’d watch until Armando’s patience wore thin.  Many salmon were no further ahead than when we started watching them.  At first, Armando didn’t see just how amazing these creatures are, questioning the big deal of them swimming upstream.  All he could see was sushi, his mouth drooling.  But then, I told him that if I plunked him in the middle of the ocean, I’d like to see how easy it would be for him to return home, ya’know what I’m saying?!  Truly amazing that they return to the same spot that they were born, spawn and then die.  Such a sad, yet awe-inspiring circle of life.

Salmon swimming upstream in Port Moody

Today, as we were walking along the inlet there was a white bird swimming among the ducks.  Oh, a seagull, I thought.  But as we got closer I realized that it wasn’t a seagull but a swan!  Armando and I both agree that we don’t think we have ever seen a swan in the wild.  And it definitely wasn’t a regular visitor to the area as everyone walking by, stopped to have a look.

Swan in Port Moody

After making Armando run home to get the camera, we snapped some shots and then l did some online research. I believe it is a Tundra Swan.  What a neat Saturday surprise!  Must have gotten lost.  Perhaps I should suggest that it looks into getting the GPS that the salmon use :)

Armando, Movember and other Hairy Talk!

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My views on my husband Armando, and his Hair:

On His Chest Hair:  He was surprised to learn that I didn’t think that chest hair is “super cool”.

On Losing His Hair:  I caught him with our camera the other day, taking pictures of the back of his head and realizing, in horror, that there is definitely a patch of hair that has “gone missing”.

On His Goatee:  I love it when he grows a goatee but it’s always short-lived because he thinks he looks like a latin gangster and shaves it every time he has a trip across the border to avoid getting scrutinized.

On His Moustache:  Normally clean-shaven when attending important business meetings, he’s finding his inner-confidence to rock a 1970′s porn star moustache in the boardroom for the month of November in support of Movember, a cause to raise funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate and testicular cancer initiatives.

Please support my husband in his effort to bring awareness to this great cause.  Please visit his website at http://ca.movember.com/mospace/4661725 and donate.  ANY amount will help and it’s a really easy and fast process :)  Thank you all for your support!

Armando’s Movember ‘stache on Day 8.

The End of a Friendship and What I Learned

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I want this to be my catharsis.  And so it shall be.

The End of a Friendship and What I Learned:

  1. If you make all the effort you are capable of making, you will have no regrets.
  2. By taking the high road, you may feel like you are giving up self-worth by not defending yourself but in the end, you are actually preserving your integrity.
  3. You can’t say anything to make someone happy if they are not willing to find happiness themselves and make the changes to do so.
  4. If someone brings more negative into your life than positive, it’s not worth the positive.
  5. If someone is always angry about something or someone, you are eventually going to be that someone.
  6. When you walk away from a friendship and your load feels lighter, you made the right decision.

I wrote this poem when I was in Grade 8 (yes, many years ago!) yet it still has the essence of what a friendship should be and what we should all strive for:

A Friend
Someone who has a shoulder
That you can lean on when you’re sad.
Someone who’s shared the memories
Of all the good times that you’ve had.

 Someone who’ll lend a hand
When you need it most of all.
Someone who’ll give you confidence
When you’re hopes are about to fall. 

Someone who will listen
When you have something to say.
Someone who will be there
Every minute of the day.

 Someone who will stand by you
Until the very end.
Someone, like this
Is what I call a friend.

I strive to be that friend.  Friendship is work and it’s required from both ends.  Some think that marriage or babies can cause friendships to end.  They don’t.  A friendship will last through life changes or across the miles.  I have friendships that are proof of that.

Friendships that lift you up and make you a better person are the ones to nurture and keep a close hold on.  Those are treasures.

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Winning the Game of…Marriage?

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Armando left this morning for a two-day business trip.  He is the sweetest of husbands and left me these gifts to enjoy around the house:

Clothing tags on our couch.

Armando is infamous for leaving papers around the house. Receipts from his business trips live in our home wherever they may fall, be it on the kitchen table, the living room floor or even on our bed.  Clothing tags are no exception.  Even though there are four garbage cans in our condo, Armando still loves to leave them wherever he’s ripped them off his new clothes.  Today, it was on the living room couch.

Candy Wrapper on the kitchen table.

This candy wrapper has actually been siting on our kitchen table for over a week.  It was a gift Armando left me when he went on his last business trip.  I’ve been waiting to see how long it will take for Armando to put it in the garbage.  So far we are on Day 8.  I will probably crack before he notices and get rid of it myself.  Am I losing the game if I do?

Cell Phone Graveyard.

This was a situation where Armando was in complete panic when his iPhone died on him.  His phone is his lifeline and without it, he will spontaneously combust.  He frantically searched for all his old phones  and started charging them.  But when he got his iPhone working again, he just left the others in our dining area, two feet away from the candy wrapper, and they as well have been there for 8 days.  I’m standing my ground and making a point by leaving them there.  I will not give in…

Slippers in the Living Room.

You know, when slippers were being left all over the house and I would be constantly tripping over them, I got a basket to put them in.  The Slipper Basket.  Yet, this morning, I see these pair of slippers in our living room.  I do admit that they are so nicely lined up that it looks like he almost made an effort to be organized.  I’ll give him points for that.

Office light left on.

I look after the hydro bill so I am definitely the Light Police in our household and he’s lucky he’s on a flight out of the city now because his office light was nicely lit as I got up this morning and wandered past.  There’s no point in making a point with the light as he is gone for two days so I switch it off.

And I don’t want to trip over the slippers so I pick them up and put them in our Slipper Basket.  And I’m tired of looking at that candy wrapper and cell phone graveyard.  So into the trash the wrapper and clothes tags go and the electronics into my nicely labelled “Electronics” box in the closet.

I feel like I’ve lost the game.  But our house looks better.  So am I winning?  I guess a little compromise never hurt anyone in this game called Marriage.

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Houseboating on Sprout Lake

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Three birthdays, a wedding and a surprise proposal…what a great summer weekend it was!  Throw in some s’mores, houseboating, swimming, games, drinks and time spent with friends well, it couldn’t get better than that.

Seventeen of us got together and spent the last long weekend of the summer houseboating at Sprout Lake near Port Alberni on Vancouver Island.  What fun it was!

And we are off…our houseboat had a kitchen, 2 bathrooms, jacuzzi, slide, BBQ and sleeping accommodations for 12(or more)…that’s what you call “roughing it”!

On the first night, we all slept on the boat but for the second night we parked the boat on a beach and set up camp.

My husband finding his “zen” on top of the houseboat as we were all getting ready downstairs for the wedding.

The wedding.
The water taxi was given our coordinates and they drove the Justice of Peace to our location to perform the marriage.

The marriage and the unexpected proposal of another couple in addition to three birthdays…the weekend was full of celebrating!

S’mores and hotdogs by the campfire.

What a way to start the morning…so peaceful.

The narrow beach that we camped on was on a slope and our tent poles eventually gave in to the weight of our mattress sliding down…no more tenting for us this trip :(

After a day of exploring the lake, swimming, fishing and extreme jumping off the boat we parked at another beach for our last night at Sprout Lake.

The magnificent moon.

The magnificent moon…again.

And again…the magnificent moon.

Eating warm, homemade pies by the campfire on our last night.  Not your usual campfire treat but oh, were they good!

Until next year, my friends…let’s hope these memories last us through the winter until we can houseboat again!

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Manitoba Summer

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I love Manitoba summers and was so happy to get a visit in back home this year.  In 100 words or less, here is a recap of the visit:

Family picnic at Assiniboine Park w/surprise concert of my fave Manitoba duo, “Keith and Renée”.  Swam the waves at Grand Beach.  Family BBQ with 4-year-old niece’s favorite: ribs!  Relaxed by the pool with mom.  Visited the Mennonite Heritage Village with dad.  Birthday celebrations with 6-year-old super party-planner.  Comedy show.  Movie night.  The Forks.  Visited with a friend I haven’t seen in 20 years!  Best cinnamon buns found with sister-in-law in Lac du Bonnet.  Lake time at my brother’s cottage.  Overeating with dad…did we really need the large sundae to top-it-off??  Learning to make perishke with mom…yes, my Ukrainian wifey-duties…

I could go on but I’m at my 100 words.  Here are some photos to top it off.  Hope to see you again soon Manitoba family & friends!

Piece of the Berlin Wall…who’da thought in Manitoba?!  Mennonite Heritage Village Steinbach, MB

Keith and Renée performing at Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg, MB.

Grand Beach – Look at that powdery sand and the endless water…yes, this is in Manitoba!

Enjoyed time at my brother’s cottage with paddle-boating and swimming off his pontoon boat.

Summer’s not summer without a campfire, and a big one at that!

Related LInks:  Prairie Snow Memories (www.westcoastprairiegirl.com)

Crazy Crowds at the Celebration of Lights 2012

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Crowd walking towards the Celebration of Lights.

I felt like I was in a movie.  A zombie movie.  Well, with more lively zombies.  We got off the bus.  9:30pm.  Downtown Vancouver.  As we started walking towards Davie Street the crowd around us steadily increased with each intersection crossed.  And as we turned right on Davie, we flowed into the stream of people walking on the blocked off road towards English Bay.  Everyone was walking zombie-like in the same direction, heading to the Celebration of Lights, the largest offshore fireworks competition in the world, right here in Vancouver!  No wonder there was an estimated crowd of 300,000 people there.

The approximate 300,000 people who gathered to watch the Celebration of Lights fireworks show.

The crowd of approximately 300,000 at the Celebration of Lights 2012.

Vietnam held the first fireworks show of the competition.  If you missed it, it was a wonderfully choreographed 25 minute show.  The next show is today, August 1st presented by Brasil and the last show is on August 4th, showcasing Italy’s fireworks display.

Fireworks at the Celebration of Lights 2012 in Vancouver, BC

After the show, we grabbed a late dinner downtown which I would definitely recommend to avoid the crazy crowds trying to leave the Vancouver core all at once.  Celebration of Lights is a great free event and if you want to make a full day out of it, check out all the activities and concerts happening around English Bay and Sunset Beach at www.hondacelebrationoflight.com.

The last “Big Bang” of the fireworks display that night…

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