eating lychee again...

just a thought, i wonder if i can eat my weight in lychees...
do you think i can poo all 115 pounds of it out?

strawberry picking!

we went strawberry picking at Krause Brothers' Farms this morning in aldergrove! :D we got there relatively early.. at around 9:15 am after being lost for a few minutes (mapquest and google maps aren't too accurate unfortunately). left vancouver at 8 am and had a nice drive down :) when we got there, their parking lot was already full of cars and people were already out picking! we grabbed our ice cream buckets (i used my IsoGold protein powder tall bucket ;) ) and jumped (or rather i hobbled while the rest of them jumped) into the strawberry patch :) (i sprained my ankle at gymnastics just the other day so i pretty much hobbled everywhere today.)

we were crouched down in the dirt amongst tons of ripe, juicy, and sweet strawberries and emerged 30 minutes later with strawberry stained hands, strawberry stained shirts (for one of us!), and strawberry filled buckets! JC just sat there popping them in his mouth while we hastily plucked them off the plant and dropped them into our buckets. i paid $11.39 for 9.11 pounds of strawberries!

after standing in line for about 10 minutes, we hungrily walked to the bakery to see what they had. there were about 8 4-inch high strawberry custard pies on reserve from customer orders and only 3 non-reserved pies left! so i grabbed one and MN grabbed a raspberry one. both MN and K bought a raspberry smoothie and LG bought preserved asparagus and some blackberry jam (YUM).

we left the farm around 11 am and headed back into vancouver. after lunch, washed all my strawberries, gobbled down a few more into my mouth ;), packed them into individual freezer bags and popped them into the freezer. i left some in the fridge so i could eat them and use them in my protein shakes.

too bad i didn't have a camera... no pictures to post :(

baby food

so i tried baby food today -- a jar of Heinz Peas and Carrots, and then a jar of Organic Pears. peas and carrots were gross. the pears was ok.

why am i eating baby food you ask? well, i heard that eating jars of baby food after a workout is good for you, especially if you're trying to get from one place to the next, or don't want to eat a protein or energy bar, or don't have time to make a protein shake. the food isn't processed (only strained and pureed from vegetables and fruit) and doesn't have any additives or sweeteners.

so would i buy more baby food? maybe a jar of pears or apple sauce, but nothing else...

i feel sorry for all the babies who have to eat this mush ;)

friendly people at the gym

so i was at the gym tonite and half way through my routine, a gym member commented on my exercises,

him: do you plan on playing soccer with that ball?

i was moving the body ball around so that i could use it for my flys. i laughed and replied, "uh yah..." and headed back to the rack to grab a 10 lb weight for lower back rotations on the ball. i completed a set and stared at the tv while i rested, watching a player in a blue jersey fall down with his hands to his face rolling around in pain.

him: they always make a big production when they're injured
me: uh yah... it seems so fake sometimes...
him: heh, much like girls when they have their period...

that caught me by surprise, but i just chuckled along...

me: well, not *all* girls are like that...
him: heh, you mean not all girls have periods?
me: ha ha, no i mean not all girls fake the pain... sometimes it really *is* painful...

and i returned to my fly exercises clearly unsure where that period remark came from. he must have sensed that i was taken aback by it as he added,

him: oh i'm only joking about that.. and he smiles.
me: yah i know... its all good! and i finished my set.

at the end of the night, i ran into him again at the cubby holes. as i was putting away my towel and gloves, and wearing my jacket, he says,

him: done your workout?
me: yep.. you?
him: well, i'm supposed to do tri's and chest today but only got my tri's in...
me: do it tomorrow :b
him: yah... oh what was your name?
me: uh.. Cindy
him: i'm Freedom... nice to meet you.

.... *Freedom*?

ikebana session 3 and 4

take a look at my new photos from the last 2 sessions of ikebana :) could this be a side business for me? i would LOVE to do that! a few of my friends have told me that i could do theme weddings and arrangements for spas, hotels, and other business establishments. what do you think?

please don't tell me i have allergies...

a couple of days ago, i woke up with a stuffy nose. as soon as i got out of bed, i had a sneezing fit -- at least 5 sneezes in a row. i didn't think much about it until a few minutes later, i had another sneezing fit and my nose just wouldn't stop running. i groaned, "oh no, i have a cold!". i popped 2 vitamin C tablets and a zinc tablet, and contemplated going back to bed.

i checked for the usual symptoms, like a scratchy throat, but my throat seemed fine. then, i had another sneezing fit and i started rubbing my eyes. they felt really itchy at the inner most corner of my eye and i just couldn't resist rubbing them.

then a horrid thought entered my brain -- is this an allergic reaction? am i having hay fear? DO I HAVE ALLERGIES?! i panicked :b and started praying the symptoms would go away and hoping i was indeed sick. i've been allergy free all my life and so thankful that i didn't have to endure the pain and suffering my dad and brother went through when Spring came around the corner.

my eyes were itchy all day and i had sneezing fits here and there. i didn't want to go outside. i just wanted to stay home and sleep, even though i wasn't tired. i figured if i slept, then maybe i won't sneeze or have to rub my eyes.

so i had lunch, checked my email again, took care of some work, hopped back into my pajamas and slid back into bed. my nose was stuffy, so i had to breathe through my mouth while i tried to fall asleep. luckily, i slept for almost 3 hours uninterrupted, but when i woke up and climbed out of bed, i had another sneezing attack.

*sigh* WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?! i went online, to BC Health Guide to find out what sort of home remedies there were to lessen the symptoms. Dust mites, mould spores, pollen from outside entering the home through open windows are the most common triggers of allergic reactions. "hmm", i thought. "i did open my window for most of the day yesterday... could that be the cause?" they recommend vacuuming and dusting once a week and washing the bedsheets every 2 weeks in order to cut down on the dust. keeping the windows closed will prevent mould spores and pollen from entering the home. washing curtains also helps keep the dust count down. they even recommend stripping the carpet of your home if a family member is sensitive to dust.

ok so i kept my window closed that day, and changed my sheets (even though i changed them only a week and a half ago). i was so not in the mood to dust (there isn't much dust anyways other than on the window sill), so i left it at that.

i was feeling a bit better later in the day -- a little stuffy and i still wanted to rub my eyes.

the next day, i was still feeling a bit stuffy but better. my eyes weren't as itchy and i wasn't engulfed in sneezing fits every 10 minutes. i went out in the sunny weather, did some window shopping on West 4th, and then headed home. my throat still wasn't scratchy, so i was hoping that whatever i had -- allergies or a cold -- it was going away!

and now today, i'm back to normal! :) no itchy eyes, and no sneezing fits. i hope this is a once in a lifetime ordeal. if it happens again though, i've been told to go get tested for allergies by my doctor.

YUCK.

sample crawl part 6

yes i know what you must be thinking... "oh no, not again". ok this time i really couldn't help it... i popped by the Paul Frank sample sale last week and picked up a couple sets of pajamas and a new bikini! :) and the prices were really good! i was upset tho cause i got there on the 2nd day. i'm sure all the good stuff was gone. i didn't know about the sale until the 2nd day! boohoo...

that's ok. i got some kickass deals so i'm happy :)

sample crawl part 5

H had a sample sale for his line of men's clothing, Uppercut! :) yep.. no girl stuff there but lots of really nice guy clothes. i was going to buy something for my brother but he has his eye on a jacket that's not out yet :b

all the best H!

recruiters...

recruiters... i have a lot of respect for recruiters, well, especially the ones i've had the pleasure to work with. i'm sure there are some horror stories out there, but so far i've had good experiences with them.

they're essentially the handler -- your agent -- they work with you to find out what you're looking for and they do all the leg work. they know how to sell you and they're the ones that land your first interview with a company.

yes i know that they get a cut in some way or another, but really, they do quite a bit of work for both the employee and the employer...

i'd like to hear of any horror or success stories ... anyone?