Celine's Life Adventure

I am writing this year-end post on the last day of the year, and I am unsure how to present a summary of my 2021. So I checked Google Photos to see what moments I captured and decided to choose 12 things we did, and that happened this year that I'll treasure. For future me who might read this, we were still in a pandemic in 2021. So we can go out, but you both are still working from home. 1. Seasons Actually, the four seasons should count as four memories, but I am grouping them into one. We had snow around February and more snow (than usual) in December. Walking in the snow, picnicking during summer, and the beautiful colours of spring and fall truly made me appreciate living in Canada. Walking in Snow Beautiful Spring ...

It's so hard to choose one photo or moment for November because it's my birth month. That said, the highlight of the month was when we watched the Vancouver Whitecaps FC at BC Place with 25,000 people. A close second is the delicious half mocha, half ube cake I had on my birthday. Back at BC Place Half Ube and Half Mocha Birthday Cake If you want to be updated with our food life in Canada, you can go to my food blog and follow me on Instagram .

Because of the pandemic, our ability to travel is quite limited (though I heard the US-Canada land border has opened). So instead of posting travel pictures, I will share my favourite photo or event in the last month. For October, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. We spent four hours cooking and preparing our Thanksgiving spread from HelloFresh. Selfie with our Thanksgiving Feast Thanksgiving Dinner The food was delicious, and our family was complete, and we were all healthy. Indeed, there are many things to be grateful for.

This month we shopped, packed, and shipped our very first balikbayan box, and I hope it gets to my in-laws early or in time for Christmas. But the picture for this month is the different imported Filipino food that I miss. When doing shopping for the balikbayan box, we went to Superstore. So while Jomar is busy grabbing things we will put inside the box, I was shopping for things we'll enjoy here in Canada and can only get in the Superstore, which includes a lot of Filipino food. Cupp Keyk, Lemon Square Cheese Cake, Hi-Ro, Hansel, and Yakult I grabbed longganisa and lumpia from the frozen aisle and all these wonderful snacks from the international aisle. This was the first time I went grocery shopping without looking at the price. Filipino goodies are so expensive (at least according to my budget) here because they're imported.  Why am I so confident to spend? Because we accumulated a lot of PC points! Yay for points! I only paid $7 and some cents for groceries worth more than ...

I don't have many friends in Canada, but my former colleagues have become great friends, and we met up for dinner this month. We last saw each other in March 2020 before working from home permanently. A few of us have already resigned but have kept in touch. It's nice to see them again and have a wonderful time. After Dinner Sunset Picture Before Dinner Picture of False Creek In my head, I am already organizing a holiday dinner inviting all former colleagues just to see each other and catch up.

On July 17, 2016 (five years ago), the Pokemon GO game became available in Canada. I played it quite often with my youngest sister. However, as with a lot of things, my interest died down. Until I married Jomar and he moved to Canada permanently. He kept playing it every day. I used to get upset, then I realize either I can fight him or join him. Thus, here were are. We play Pokemon GO every day.  Over the weekend (July 17 and 18, 2021), Jomar and I spent most of the time playing the game because it's Pokemon GO Fest.  Pokemon GO Fest 2021 Shirt On Saturday, we spent the whole day (from 10 in the morning until 6 in the evening) in a nearby park where you can reach four Poke Stops from one location. We wore our Pokemon GO Fest 2021 shirt purchased from the Pokemon Center. Our favourite spot in the neighbourhood. Five different food trucks Then on Sunday, we spent most of the day walking around between gyms to battle legendary Pokemon. It was a lot of fun and exhausting. The nig...

I have been eager to travel since the pandemic began. My mom is celebrating her 60th birthday this year and on the same weekend as Father's day which means my siblings and I can plan a trip and won't feel guilty splurging them a little bit. You can read Day 1 and Day 2 on their respective links. Day 3 (June 20, 2021) I can't believe it's our last half day in Victoria, BC. St. Andrew's Cathedral We started the day by visiting St. Andrew's Catholic Cathedral. Unfortunately, we can't go inside because of the pandemic, so we had to say our prayers of thanksgiving outside. St. Andrew's Catholic Cathedral St. Andrew's Catholic Cathedral in Downtown Victoria, BC Breakfast at Shine Cafe We were originally planning to go to the famous Jam Cafe. However, it's like a 10-minute walk and I still felt exhausted from all the walking we did yesterday. As such, I opened my trusted Foursquare app and found Shine Cafe two blocks away. Read my post here . Drive an...

I have been eager to travel since the pandemic began. My mom is celebrating her 60th birthday this year and on the same weekend as Father's day which means my siblings and I can plan a trip and won't feel guilty splurging them a little bit. Day 1 (June 18, 2021) Day 2 (June 19, 2021) We started today with breakfast at Q At The Empress . Then, we took a bus to The Butchart Gardens. The Butchart Gardens It's a beautiful 55 acres of gardens envisioned by Jennie Butchart. She transformed a former quarry into a lush garden haven that has become a National Historic Site of Canada. I don't think sharing pictures would give justice to the different gardens inside. My personal favourite is the Sunken Garden and Japanese Garden. I have a bias for gardens which is why VanDusen Botanical Garden in Vancouver is my number one favourite spot in the city. You can just sit in one of the benches and feel all your worries melt away. I didn't get that...

I have been eager to travel since the pandemic began. My mom is celebrating her 60th birthday this year and on the same weekend as Father's day which means my siblings and I can plan a trip and won't feel guilty splurging them a little bit. Day 1 (June 18, 2021) We started our trip with an Uber ride to my parent's place in Richmond, BC. My dad is so excited to see me 😂! He cooked all my favourite dishes because I know I will feast on them - he prepared tortang talong, boneless bangus, and chicken adobo. Sarap! At 11:30, we started our drive to Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal. We got lost because of Apple Maps and we were teasing my younger sister about it the whole time. I guess it won't be a family road trip if you don't make the wrong exit and have to find a way out the highway. Spirit of Vancouver Island Ferry Our boarding time is 1:00 PM and it's our first time riding the ferry. It was a short 90-minute ride. The water was calm and you can clearly see the islands...