Celine's Life Adventure

Happy Canada Day! Our celebration began last night when we had dinner at the only Indigenous restaurant in Vancouver, Salmon n' Bannock. We enjoyed Elk Steak and Bison Soup, among other dishes. Today, our day started with breakfast at Tim Hortons. It's as cliche as it gets. Then, we walked across Granville Bridge on a beautiful clear day to Downtown Vancouver. View from Granville Bridge We were walking along Howe Street when my husband suggested we stop by and check out the activities happening in the northern plaza of the Vancouver Art Gallery. It was the Taiwanese Canadian Cultural Festival, and we enjoyed Taiwanese Sausage and had a Red Bean Wheel Cake for the first time. Taiwanese Canadian Cultural Festival Then, Canada Place is as bust as it gets. There's a main stage, a kids' area, and ...

Summer officially began on June 21, the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. The first summer weekend is busy, and we're blessed with beautiful sunny weather. Friday: Road Trip to White Rock, BC The weekend began when we took a drive from Vancouver to South Surrey, BC. It's my penultimate Friday at my current work. After dropping off company-issued devices (laptop, monitor, mouse, keyboard, etc.), we drove to White Rock, BC. The sun illuminated the horizon, and it was low-tide, exposing the rocky seafloor filled with people sunbathing. Thank God for the beautiful scenery. Canada's Longest Pier  is at White Rock, BC Canada We indulged in a delicious dinner at a local restaurant, Charlie Don't Surf , then grabbed a scoop of gelato from Maya's before returning home. Saturday: Immersed in Filipino Culture at the Pinoy Festival We woke up late and had...

My mom's birthday is the same weekend as Father's Day, so we decided to take a day trip to Seattle, Washington, USA. We left home at 5:30 AM and went to the car rental with my younger sister, her boyfriend, me, and Jomar. She rented an 8-seater minivan which is perfect for us. We picked them up in Richmond and left their home to start our drive at around 6:30 AM. We went through the usual USA border processing with our Canadian passports (woohoo!) and my dad's Philippine passport and US visa. We had a short stopover at a McDonald's. Pike Place Public Market Center , Seattle, WA, on a rainy spring day Then, we're off to Target near Pike Place Market. My youngest sister wants to see what Target looks like. It's her first time in Seattle. It's also our brother's first time in the city. We explored Pike Place (mostly lining up at the excellent food plac...

After joining the fun run at RBC Run for the Kids in Queen Elizabeth Park, we rode the bus to Commercial Drive and attended Italian Day on The Drive 2023. It's our first time joining the festivities! Italian Day 2023 starts at 12:00 NN, and this picture of the crowd is taken at 12:03 PM. I love it! Of course, I was there for the food and ate a lot. My favourite part of the event is the Italian cars on display. It reminded me of 'Luigi' from the Pixar movie Cars. There's also a Vespa! It's Luigi from the Pixar movie Cars. Vespa We saw a street performer doing live fire and magic tricks right before we left. It was awesome. #Selfie If you want to see what we ate, click ...

I have a confession to make. I love supporting the BC Children's Hospital but don't particularly enjoy running. For someone who has been overweight her whole life, running is just a non-starter (for the most part). However, I married Jomar, who runs a half-marathon twice a year, and he looked so proud after I did my first 5km run last year , so I decided to attend the event, and I'm glad I did. Before the 5km fun run We grabbed the free shirt, bib, and challenger cape from Nat Bailey's parking lot yesterday. Then, we took two buses to get to Riley Park today. I joined the stretching with Team RBC Athletes (I can't remember how they're "branded" by RBC), and off we go. My time last year was better (because when you're married to a runner, you care about the time), but I did enjoy this year's run better. ...

It's a beautiful, sunny Saturday. Jomar and I walked to Robson Square from our apartment to join the fun at the Proudly Philippines 2023 Food and Travel Fair. Proudly Philippines Food and Travel Fair 2023 in Robson Square On our walk there, we crossed on the west side of Granville Bridge and was rewarded with the following view. Thank God for magnificent Vancouver. The sights still leave me at awe. Days like this, I still feel like a tourist here. View of Granville Island from Granville Bridge View of False Creek and Burrard Bridge from Granville Bridge We arrived at Robson Square and walked around to see available food options. I got Mochanut Mamon from KayeBakes.ca (my favourite) and was way too giddy when I spotted Iskrambol. It tas...

I did something I hadn't done in a long time: volunteer in person. Compassion Canada was looking for volunteers for the "for KING & COUNTRY" concert at Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Downtown Vancouver. I have a confession: I didn't know the band before volunteering and spent the last few nights listening to their songs on YouTube. I'm inside Queen Elizabeth Theatre. It was fun to volunteer in person. After our volunteering part (during the intermission), we enjoyed the second part of the show. for KING & COUNTRY band I haven't been to a concert since forever (12 years ago?), and it was fun, but I wish I knew more of their songs. After the show, I exited the Queen Elizabeth Theatre to see my husband standing outside. We're both giddy that our dear Vancouver Whitecaps FC won 6-2 (...

It's Victoria Day long weeked. Yesterday, we went to Richmond to celebrate youngest sister's birthday. Woohoo! We ordered Popeyes for lunch and Japanese food for dinner. It's always fun to spend time with my siblings. After Mass today, I asked Jomar what he wants to do with the following options: We walk to Downtown Vancouver and visit the Vancouver Art Gallery. We've been living here for more than five years and have not entered it. Since it's a beautiful day outside, we can walk to Queen Elizabeth Park, sit on a bench, and enjoy the serenity it can offer in the middle of a bustling city. We went for the free option of walking to Queen Elizabeth Park. We grabbed Tim Hortons on the way. Despite coming here often, I still love it. Thank God for parks. Queen Elizabeth Park Quarry Qu...

It's airport day! Good morning! I woke up at 4:00 AM to prepare for the day. At 5:00 AM, Tita Vickie toasted the delicious pandesal and prepared hot chocolate to ensure we won't get hungry while waiting for our flight. I am so blessed to have Tita Vickie and Tito Dea in my life. They drove us to Ontario International Airport (ONT) for our flight. I didn't do any web check-in and was feeling paranoid. Thankfully, the staff of Alaska Airlines was pleasant. After getting our boarding pass for both flights, we hugged Tita Vickie and Tita Dioly goodbye and went through TSA. Then, we waited for our flight. We explored ONT and found the ramen vending machine, but everything was sold out. I was so looking forward to writing about it. Anyway, we just sat near our gate, and I napped. A few minutes before boarding, I told Jomar I was hungry. We're boarding soon, so I grabbed a sandwich from Hudson News and devoured my half. Jomar wants to eat his...

Good morning! Happy Palm Sunday! I woke up at the usual time of 7:00 AM and heard movements in the kitchen. Tita Vickie is preparing breakfast and even made the most amazing tablea hot chocolate. One of my mom's fondest childhood memories is drinking tablea hot chocolate and how it's still the best, and I agree. Tablea  Hot Chocolate After breakfast, we went to Palm Sunday Mass at St. Martha Catholic Church. During Mass, I felt a sudden wave of gratitude. I am truly blessed to have a wonderful family. Thank God for blessing my mom's kind, funny, loving, and forgiving sisters, and we (me and my siblings) are lucky to have such wonderful Titas. Thank you, Lord, for my immediate and extended family. After Mass, we made a quick stop home. Then, Jomar, me, and Tita Dioly rode to Resurrection Cemetery in Ate Stacy's car. I took videos and pictures of the hills covered i...