The Rest of the Week

Last week could not have finished fast enough. Not because I had nothing to do and time was just dragging. Au contraire, like I mentioned previously, I was so busy, the weekend could not have come fast enough. And on top of that, here we are, already December, Yikes!

When stressed, some people can't even think of food. I happen to be the opposite...

Shrimp ball wrapped in sugar cane (Phnom Penh)
... finger photo-bombed:p

Fried chicken wings

Buddha's Feast (Congee Noodle House)

Pea tips with garlic

Deep fried tofu

Fried chicken wings

(Keep in mind, shared with friends, ok? hehe)

At least, I got to do some good deed despite the hectic schedule. I managed to get together with some friends at work to do our regular blood donation.

And earlier, I decided last minute to go to a mall I don't usually frequent. What can I say, shopping relaxes me. Ok, maybe not in this particular mall. It was huge, and there were so many people, I just got a headache. Nevertheless, I was relaxed. HAH!

Zoom!

That's how my whole week felt... *sigh*...

I suppose I could gripe about how cray cray busy it was and how I didn't even realize how stressed I was, but what for? Why feed the negative energy? I know what's needed to be done...

Work aside, what did I do? Hmmm...

Ah, yes, discovered another food truck during one lunch...

Rim Food Baht food truck

Forgot to bring my phone with me to take a pic, but I did order the Original Pad Thai. Funny thing with me, when it comes to Thai food, I would always order the Pad Thai if I'm trying the place (or truck) for the first time. I find that if I like their Pad Thai then I would like the rest of the menu in general. Did I like this particular one? It was a tad on the dry side but I like the flavor for sure, enough that I would probably go back and try their other food.

One time, as I was waiting to meet a co-worker at a corner, something on the ground caught my eye...

... just something to ponder on...

Coconut Curry Noodle at The Noodle Box

Ended up going out for lunch with a friend since without us knowing ahead, she happened to be in the same office as I was that day.

Then Thursday, it was time again for blood donation for me and a co-worker. And just like in the past, we rewarded ourselves after with a dinner after.

Arctic Cod Burger at the Red Robin

And we thought we'd make it interesting this one time by sweetening the pot, literally...

... dessert on the slower bleeder... HAH!... within healthy constraints of course...

And I finally picked up the books I ordered online. So, I've just been relaxing and reading since Friday... rest, at last...

My Week in Food

Every now and then, my social calendar gets packed up in such a short period of time that even I wonder what's up with things. For weeks, it'll be quiet, so quiet that even I get antsy, then next thing I know, everything seems to be happening one after another. Of course when I say social activities, I mean one thing, food... *sigh*... I mean *satisfied sigh*... Hah!

Take last week, for example...

(Be warned, it's a heavy food post.)

MONDAY:
Hubs and I decided to go for dim sum last minute.

Bean curd sheet with veggies

Prawn chow fun

Beef balls

Siumai

Sesame ball

WEDNESDAY:
It was time for our bimonthly blood donation, and true to what's now appearing to be a tradition, came our dinner after. Gotta replenish the iron.

Saltspring Island Mussels in coconut curry sauce

Crisp polenta fries with curry mayo sauce

FRIDAY:
A bunch of us met up for dinner as we all haven't seen one another in a while.

Seared ahi tuna salad

SATURDAY:
(saving the best for last) Some friends wanted to check out the Richmond Night Market. They have a second location this year, which is where we went. Actually, we initially checked out the Chinatown one in downtown but having gotten there and realizing how measly the offering was, we decided last minute to go check out the Richmond one. And we're all glad we did.

Grilled squid tentacles

Skewered meat (ribeye, chicken and pork)

Popcorn chicken, Taiwanese-style

Martabak (Indonesian egg snack)

Roasted pork hock

The Wishing Tree

And of course, with all those activities last week and really no time to do anything else, what do I gotta do now? Oh, laundry and whatever chores I "fancy doing". Oh and yes, I guess burn all those calories off.

*burp*

Momma's Day

Last week just went by so fast, I tell ya.

First, I guess it took me practically the whole week to recover from that (very) late night movie last Sunday. Even though my mind thought it was doable, my body clearly didn't. Second, I ended up taking on more than I thought I was going to at work. Kinda' by choice, and kinda' not. But who wants to talk about work...

One good thing from last week, we finally managed to do our blood donation as planned. And to reward ourselves afterward, we went for some good old-fashioned burgers.

Red Robin

Gotta' replenish after all, no? hehe

The Banzai Burger
(Marinated in teriyaki and topped with grilled pineapple,
Cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and mayo...)

Before I knew it, Friday's come...

Yesterday was just a gorgeous day. And what do I do when it's beautiful outside? Why, shop of course! HAH! Oh, is it just me?

Well, the sunny day made me think of the summer days to look forward to, which got me thinking summer dresses and skirts and warm colors...

Calvin Klein cropped cardi, $16 (on clearance!
love the tiny ruffling),
inspired by her

For Cynthia linen skirt, $29.99
(the straw belt was a nice bonus but I will switch that,
for sure)... finally caved in to some linen

Raj 100% cotton scarf, $12.99 (love the stars!)

(All items from Winners)

So, Saturday's excursion has brought this month's shopping to $66.06 thus far. Not bad, I say. Not bad, until I receive the pants I ordered from J Crew, that is. Well, I haven't gotten them in my hands just yet, so until then...

And for Saturday dinner, I seem to be in some kind of pasta kick of weekends late.

Spinach fettucine with chicken breast in cream sauce

Can't be all about my food all the time after all. Hubs gotta' represent too, I suppose...

And today was another gorgeous day indeed! Fitting weather to celebrate Moms. Although celebrating it only in thoughts on my side of the coast, sending all my thoughts and love to my momma' on the other side. And to sis. And to all my mom friends. And, of course, to all other moms out there...

I've come to suck your blood, so I was told

Thanks to a lovely co-worker, I am working my way to becoming a regular blood donor. I could not have been happier. With all the trivial things that occupy my brain, I forget sometimes to think beyond "my" world. I know it may not mean much to some, or even enough for some, but I have to start somewhere, right?

www.bloodservices.ca

Times like this makes me really appreciate and feel fortunate to be working with such wonderful people who inspires me to be a better person. There's her who's donated blood more than 50 times so far. And another who volunteers in a refugee camp during her vacation. And so much more. And if I tell you the kind of work we do, to be able to continue that same amount of passion outside work says quite a lot about the kind of people I work with. A true blessing indeed! I can only hope I can do a fraction of what they do... Baby steps...

And of course, what's an event without food, tell me. LOL. For what's-becoming-a-ritual dinner after our tiny act of good deed, this time we went here.



Fried cauliflower




Falafel



white wine sangria

Okay, the third item may not have been the best choice, considering, but they did say I needed to replenish with liquid. Guess they should have been more specific... teehee...