Celine's Life Adventure

I have so many ideas on how to do this year-end post. I thought of doing a per month summary or a top 19 things that happened this 2019. I'm writing this December 30th, and I still haven't decided. I'll look at Google Photos and see what happened each month and see if I can present it in a better way. Let's do this! Update on December 31 : I started a monthly summary and picked the top 19 events that happened this year. Disclaimer: I didn't include birthdays. This list is arranged chronologically. Number 1. Staycation at Pan Pacific Hotel We welcomed 2019 by staying overnight at Pan Pacific Hotel (you can read the details here ). The primary reason for our stay is to watch the Vancouver New Year fireworks. View from our hotel room Our beautiful room (and yes, that's the view from the window) Number 2. Vancouver Aquarium at night Jomar's workplace has organized a winter party at the Vancouver Aquarium. There were lots of food, gre...

Christmas is the biggest and most important holiday in our family. Jomar and I have been sleeping over at my parent's place every Christmas. My sisters also choose a specific cuisine to cook. This year, we have French cuisine. Merry Christmas from our family Ratatouille , Classic French Gratin Dauphinois, Bouillabaisse, and Chicken Cordon Bleu Yuzu Cheesecake, Yule Log cake, and cakes Watching The Nightmare Before Christmas while sister prepares dinner Now, we had dinner and are going to watch movies until 12mn so we can exchange gifts. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Jomar and I have been planning to go here last year and even the year before, but somehow we never have gotten around to it. Today, after the Pokemon GO Community Day, we went to Jack Poole Plaza where the Vancouver Christmas Market is located. Then, it started raining. Merry Christmas! Nope, I'm not going to be drenched in the rain and endure the cold to be here. This rain is not in the forecast so it was completely unexpected. We decided to let the dark clouds pass inside the Starbucks at Shaw building across the street. After an hour, it stopped raining. Thank God! We lined up again and entered. It was still before sunset so it's bright. We took pictures around and feasted on the many great foods! I wish we could eat more but at some point, you just know that you're full. Top left: DAS BRAT from Freybe (THE Brat seasoned with marjoram and caraway served on an artisan bun with warm sauerkraut). Top right: Tender Beef Gulasch in a bread bowl from Das Gulasch...

I recorded the Frozen Stories from our Google Home mini at home and have uploaded it on YouTube. I'll keep updating this Playlist as I listen to more stories. I don't edit the videos, so they come straight from my Google Pixel 3. I really wasn't sure as well what to put in the background and just remembered that I got these two Funkopop!

I have this weird mentality with money. I'm frugal and won't spend anything on things we don't need. The most thing I'll spend on is food and eating out. Other than that, in general, I don't buy new things. That changed this weekend. I love the Harry Potter universe and I am a collector of random things . This weekend I decided to spend on Harry Potter Funko Pop and a couple Lego sets. For the first time in forever, I didn't feel guilty about buying things I WANT. This is my Harry Potter Collection. This is my new Lego Collection. This is my Funko Pop collection. I am happy. :)

This is the 3rd consecutive year Jomar and I went to the Santa Claus Parade in Vancouver. Each year we try to improve our experience. In 2017, we were standing up at Robson and Howe. The following year, we took our foldable chair and enjoyed the festivities along Howe on the east side between Georgia Street and Robson. Before the parade started This year we decided to move and enjoy it along Georgia Street between Burrard and Hornby on the south side of the street. In time for the event, I purchased a mobile phone tripod to (hopefully) get better videos. My phone can take 4K videos so below is a playlist of the parade. This event is usually my signal that it's officially Christmas! I can't wait to experience more Christmas festivities in Vancouver.

Last Tuesday, our team went to West Restaurant for dinner to celebrate the holidays and 2019. The food, service, and ambiance were perfect. I plan to come back with Jomar soon because West Restaurant is closing by the end of the year. End of 2019 Gumstix Team

We went to have dinner with the family yesterday. The dinner was at 7:00 PM, and we decided to hang out at River Rock Hotel. They have beautiful Christmas decorations at their lobby already. Of course, I decided to take photos as best as I could. We also watched Last Christmas  on Monday, which resulted in Jomar humming Christmas songs at random times. I also started playing Christmas songs while preparing breakfast. First Feel of Christmas Partial Panorama of River Rock lobby View while going down the escalators. Good things happen when you look up. After dinner, I wanted to test Night Sight on the updated Google Camera app on my Pixel 3. See the results below. Night Sight Without Night Sight I'm looking forward to Christmas, and the five vacation days I'll take.

I'm celebrating my third decade on this beautiful world this month, and I thought of making a list of thirty things I'm grateful for. I'm going to divide it into sections as best as I could, but I could be repeating some of them. Faith This is something I am grateful to my mom and years of Catholic education. No, I haven't memorized the bible, but the values it instilled in me have been a foundation of my life. 1. God I'm a Catholic. I'm thankful to know that I worship a loving God who sent his Son, Jesus, to save me. Every time I go through trials, and there's been plenty, I know I can go to Him and surrender. 2. Kerygma Family I can't remember the first time I discovered Kerygma, but receiving the Gospel for the day and reflection allows me to be connected to God daily. Moreover, the teachings are not just for spiritual growth. They include financial, emotional, and even physical. 3. Faith Community When Jomar and I moved into our current a...