Niagara weekend getaway (picture heavy)

Just the past weekend, myself and 12 others planned a trip to Niagara Falls to celebrate numerous things.
1. Cece's birthday
2. Crystal's Birthday
3. Robin's fairwell
4. Overall reunion of all TD people + John's girlfriend

Saturday Morning, Cece picked me up with Carol, Henry and Kary in the car. We had a small lunch at McDonald's before the long drive. The ride was fun, filled with blasting music and good head drooping naps. We seemed to be the fastest out of the three cars, so we stopped at Canada One Outlet to shop around first. Don't really like it there, not a lot of stores that interests me. I went into Soloman and they had a snowboard clasp that looked pretty good, and i was looking at snow pants but it seems they were all too long for me. I don't know if i'm just ridiculously short or their clothing are just for ridiculously tall people.

Cece + Carol

Henry

Kary

They had a Parasuco outlet, and i fell in love with a winter jacket. I tried it on and it fits nicely, and i wanted it sooo badly. But i needed to save and the girls managed to convince me to not buy it. Happy for that, but it does not stop the fact that my mind tends to linger back on that jacket. *drools*. It was snowing quite badly that day, and it was like that for the entire day.

It's snowing and it's cold!!!

Saw Candy's car at the parking lot of the outlet. Decided to leave a little bit of love =)

It was around 4pm, and we finally checked into our hotel room. We stayed at the Hilton Hotel at the Fallsview Casino, which was awesome, since there is a walkway and we didn't have to step outside in the cold for the remainder of the night.
We had book 3 hotel rooms in total. Each one was a Two bedroom suite, and it was huge and gorgeous! One king size bed, One queen size bed and a couch with a pullout queen size bed. Our room had a Jacuzzi with a huge window that we can open or close the remote controlled blinds for privacy or the lack of privacy. Pretty awesome for $139 a night, but if we stayed any longer than that, i'm sure the price would be very different.We unloaded all the food and alcohol into the kitchen. Our room was going to be the party room for the night since we got our room first and everything was already there.

My bedroom with Candy

The First room

Bathroom shot

Jacuzzi

View from the window

So finally everyone arrived and we all stayed in out room shared between Candy, Cece, Carol and myself. Check in time was supposed to be at 3pm, but then they didn't even have the two other rooms ready yet. We got all the tough looking men to go down to complain and all 13 of us ended up with free buffet breakfast for the next day, later checkout time, and upgraded from falls view instead of city view (beautiful!). Woot woot!

View from our hotel room, foggy and stormy.

Casino View

A few stayed in our room for pre-drinking while some others went back to their rooms to get settled in first. We were watching a horror movie on TV (The uninvited), and Cece was also telling us horror stories during the commercial breaks. Carol, Candy and I were all curled up on the bed scared while Robin and Henry were trying to be very dramatic and scare us some more. After the movie, we all crowded together in one bed telling horror stories in Toronto restaurants and the ghost story of our branch. Apparently our branch is haunted and there is a ghost at wicked 12 that calls people from that phone after hours. More people showed up in our room and as we were still in the scared mood, John was hiding in the Jacuzzi and popped out and banged on the window and scared the hell out of all of us.

Sandwich time!!!

It was so funny, because we kept calling each other in our rooms using the hotel phone, and we all had the same idea of picking up the phone saying "Welcome to TD Canada Trust at Kennedy and Steele's, Why are you calling?" haha, it was great!

We all met up and decided to head down to the Grand Buffet inside the Fallsview Casino for dinner. Everyone had a players card so it was $20 flat for everyone. We went at a rather late time so there wasn't a lot of people, therefore, we didn't have to abide by the 90 minute seating time rule. As a matter of fact, we stayed there for a pretty damn long time! I had a small portion of normal human hot food and then the rest of the dinner, i stuffed myself with dessert! I love the dessert there, it's fancy and yummy and it's a never ending supply!!! I've been there 3 times and always the dessert is the best. I wish i could have taken some pictures but unfortunately cameras allowed in the casino.

It was around 10pm when we were done dinner, and we decided to walk around the casino and around the shops and take some pictures at the lobby. The place was huge, since they have west wing, south wing, east wing, and north wing, i keep forgetting which one we are and can easily end up getting lost. We all met back up in our hotel room and started drinking and dressing up and putting the makeup on. They brought a bunch of tiny shooter cups, jenga and Uno with the automatic card shuffler and dispenser.(We never gotten around to playing Uno though haha). We stayed in the hotel room for quite a while.

Messy

cooling process

It was 1am and we were getting bored, so we decided to head downstairs to "Dragonfly" for clubbing. There was still a small lineup, but it was very quick. $20 cover fee and the security questioned my age but we all got in smoothly. Not that any of us are under aged, but two boys in front of us were only 19 and they were hitting on us, until Cece said "you're too young for us" hahaha.
The Club was actually pretty decent, the music was really really good. Main thing i am picky with clubs are music! And i was really hyping up to their good choice in music. Some had drinks and we danced together, with the boys standing behind us to protect us from unwelcome strangers trying to make a move. It was so cute, once men tried to "dance" their way in towards us and try to grab us to dance with them, John, Henry and Robin would come in right away to make sure they know they we are not interested. Haha, that was great! During the time, there were two very large women dancing with each other and kept hitting us unintentionally... because of the tight space and how large they were. Someone stated "their arms are the size of my entire body". Haha kinda mean but it was true.
We left at around 3:30am and poor Cece and Crystal's feet were aching from their heels, they took them off right away and walked bare feet back to the hotel on the dirt cold tiled floors.

All dressed up and ready to go

In front of the fountain, a random guy got into the pic behind us without us knowing.

At Dragonfly nightclub. Another random guy popped into our group picture

Once we got back, immediately we turned on the Jacuzzi to soak our tired feet. It felt soooo good! Everyone came back to our room after changing itno comfy clothes and we drank and played games all night. I was a good girl, i didn't drink AT ALL (alcohol) except for ONE shot of grey goose for Robin, since he's leaving Toronto for good.

Soaking up our poor feet in the jacuzzi

We got company! Party in the bathroom!

Matrix was playing on TV, so we watched that while playing Jenga, Drinking, and chowing down on chips. We had loud music playing in the room thanks to Cece's laptop and her iphone she plugged in. Cece and Crystal decided to soak in the Jacuzzi for a bit while watching us through the window, since they were the only two who brought their bikini's. I wish i did too, the hotel pool was so big and nice! We also bought too much junk food and alcohol, they even made an extra trip to a nearby LCBO because they were afraid we didn't have enough, but we ended up having way too much that we had to bring some home.

Cheers!

Jenga!

Spying on the girls in the tub

We went outside for a short walk and to get some air and on the way we saw a lot of prostitutes haha. Quite a lot of people out at such an odd time of night.

5:30am, the party started to die down, we were getting tired, and Henry was already passed out on the couch. We pulled the sofa bed out for him to lie down and allowed him to stay in our girlie room but he insisted he could walk. So Robin helped him back to their own hotel room. Sebastian, Daniel and Candy didn't want to go to bed yet, so they went downstairs to the Casino for a while. Since i share a bed with Candy that night, she left me all alone in the room, cold and no one to cuddle with me on the bed :( So cruel. Carol and Cece were sound asleep in the other bed in the other room just behind the door. Just as we all fell asleep, our room phone rang causing all of us to shoot up awake since the sound is so loud and annoying and freaky. It was 6am and John called to scare us saying "helloooo...this is the ghost from wicket 12 calling...". Gahhhhh! I'm surprised i was able to fall back asleep afterwards.

Henry's out

They're all out

And so the room finally emptied out

Leaving a mess, of course.

We woke up at 9am for the sole purpose of free breakfast haha. Last call was at 10am, so we had to get there before then. It was so difficult getting up. Breakfast was all the way up at the top floor and it was sooo nice, it looks exactly like CN Tower's 360 restaurant with the windows that goes all around and the two levels and how the restaurant is a circle. Very nice. Wasn't very hungry so i did not really indulge myself in the buffet-ness of breakfast time. Sebastian was the only one who couldn't wake up so everyone else had breakfast without him, the others were late coming down too. The bill was $300+, so happy it was free lol. But we had more than 8 ppl so we still had to pay the gratuity fee lol.

After breakfast we went back to the hotel room to laze around. Henry came over to our room, and us 5 layed on the bed watching  movie and eventually we all fell asleep together for an hour. It was a good rest. When we woke up it was round 12:30 we thought "Oh crap, we have to check out at 1pm!" A bit late but no problem! So after we packed everything up we went down to the parking lot and shoved everything in the car before coming back in to play at the casino for a while. We split up in groups to play. Our small group of 8 decided everyone to put in $10 and together we have $80 to play. We played the triple 7 slot machine, didn't win a lot there, and the game was so slow, and so then we moved on to the Sex and the City game. We had a lot of bonus games there and it was really fun, and spend majority of the day on that machine but eventually...like 2 hours later we lost the entire $80. Didn't win anything, luck was not on our side that day. Cece had good luck though. After we finally left the Casino, we took a bunch of group pictures by the fountain and finally off to home we go.

We came back to Toronto and had dinner at a Viet/Thai place, we all craved Pho since it was soooo cold. Last dinner with Robin, it was so sad. We all hugged him out in the parking lot and saying goodbye is very hard since we won't be seeing him anymore until maybe a long time when we go Shanghai or he visits us years later after he comes back and after settling down in Vancouver. Good luck on your marriage within the next two years! I will defiantly visit you in Shanghai when i happen to stop by in Asia.
Robin has always been one of my really good friends i met at TD, wonderful coworker and so helpful. Thanks for all those times of offering to drive me home when it's late at night and taking over the business wicket when i didn't want to. Can't forget all those times when you helped me translate when customers spoke un-understandable mandarin and always bring us beard papa's to feed us. Thanks Robin!!! The branch won't be as lively now :(

Bye Robin!

This mini trip has been really fun, it kind of slaps me in the and makes me realize how stressed I've really been and how much of a vacation i really needed. I need to de-stress myself from time to timer and let loose. Need to stop ditching my co-workers so much and go out and do something wild. Life can be very suffocating at times, i'm glad i have wonderful co-workers and friends that can bring me out of my stressful mind so easily.

h2o+

So there's this new product i'm dying to try out by H2O + called the "Sea results overnight perfecting peel".
My skin has been so try lately due to the harsh winter air and the suffocating heat inside my house does my skin no good either. Not to mention it's THAT time of the month, so obviously i will have a few breakouts. My mood is not pleasant.

So this is what it says on the website.

http://www.h2o-plus.ca/product/sea+results+overnight+perfecting+peel+(can).do?search=basic&keyword=Sea+Results+Overnight+Perfecti&sortby=bestSellers&page=1

Sea Results Overnight Perfecting Peel (CAN)

1.3 fl oz/38 mL

A gentle, oil-free liquid peel that helps to resurface the skin and reveal a healthy glow with glycolic and salicylic acids

• Glycolic and salicylic acids help clarify tone, smooth texture and fine lines, leaving skin exceptionally vibrant
• AHAs and BHAs gently exfoliate the skin to help prevent clogged pores and minimize breakouts in acne-prone skin
• Vital nutrients derived from sea minerals and plant extracts help soften skin
• Restores balance to oily and dry areas for combination skin

Key Elements:

Salicylic Acid: Derived from white willow, salicylic acid is a naturally occurring beta hydroxy acid (BHA). It helps prevent clogged pores by slowing down the rate at which the skin sheds cells. Anti-inflammatory effects calm redness and help reduce pimples or razor burn.

Glycolic Acid: Extracted from sugar cane, glycolic acid is one of the most naturally effective alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs). It rapidly exfoliates dead epidermal cells to diminish the appearance of fine lines and revitalize skin tone and texture.

Anti-Aging Marine Blend: A transformative trio of natural seaweed extracts proven to help skin resist and repair the visible signs of aging. 

• Nori: Deep reddish algae sourced from Japan’s western shore; visibly firms skin that has lost elasticity, and reduces the appearance of surface lines
• Himanthalia: Brown grassy blades that thrive on the rocky coast of the northern British Isles; calms and soothes stressed skin
• Spirulina: Blue-green coils that flourish along balmy South Pacific shores; rich in nutrients known to boost cell immunity

I love the sound of that. I am in dire need of a good moisturizer to really hydrate and heal my skin when i sleep, so when i wake up, i can use something more simple. This is also said to help with hyper pigmentation, and that really is one of my biggest problems. I have uneven skin tones and sever hyper pigmentation in some areas, this is why i cannot leave the house without makeup even if i don't have any blemishes.

I've always love H2o products, it's just that some of their stuff is really expensive when you want to buy just that one thing. The last time i tried their Oasis kit, i was in love, but i'm always out to try new things and better things. That one really worked in hydrating my skin, but i need something that does more than hydrating, i need something that actually heals and make a difference. I really want to try this, but it's so difficult to find :( 

I think only Sears sell H2o but they don't carry everything, mainly the old stuff. There is one in Eaton Center but it's so far for me having to travel down there. The price is $50 on the Canadian website, but shipping is expensive unless you spend over $100. Let me know if any of you tried this! I'm so head over heals for it!

My cramps are killing meeee......

X___x

Don't let life put you down.






...trying really hard to...

Happy New Years!~~~ Resolutions for 2011

Changing Place.
    Changing Time.
       Changing Thoughts.
           Changing Future.


2011 is a year for change. Not to mention it's the year of the rabbit. What does that mean? Well according to the Chinese zodiac, it's supposed to represent calm, and it is said that it will be a calm and peaceful year. And who doesn't need some calm and peace in their own crazy lives? I know i sure do need to be in peace with myself for the most part and try to stay calm. I let people, work and society affect me way too much to be a calm and happy person. This year i need to change my lifestyle around.

It's all about change. Everything changes.

We're not the person we used to be a few years ago. I'm not. Boyfriend is not. Friends are not too.

I used to like to party. The louder the music the better, the more drinks, the more exciting, the more people, the merrier.
Yeah...people change. I'm not like that anymore. Call be boring, but i'm really not into that type of thing anymore. Sure once in a while is okay when you've had a stressful day and just want to relax and let loose on a weekend, that's fine. I enjoy a nice karaoke day with a couple of good friends, but hardcore partying, grinding, sweaty strangers trying to rub their junk on you, mindless alcohol consumption that you know you will get sick from but do it anyways? Yeah i'm not into that kind of stuff anymore. I don't see the appeal in it, it's just not my thing anymore. Sorry guys, i don't mean to ditch so many times, but really...it's not my thing anymore. If you ask me to drink, i probably won't. One, my tolerance is getting lower by the year, i really don't like the taste (i don't know why i even put that stuff down my throat in the first place when i never liked any of the alcohol tastes) A teensy weensy bit is fine, but if you want me to do a full cup/bottle? No thanks; Two, it makes me feel sick very fast; Three, i can have just as much fun as you can without it. Why do you want to risk damaging your kidney and at the same time getting a pot belly?

I've had plenty of time in 2010 to think about life. Couldn't really think about anything good, i hope i can finally clear my head this year and let 2011 be a new beginning for me.
2010 was a very bad year for me, all the bad stuff affected me pretty deeply, i have to say compared to 2005 which was also a very depressing year for me, 2010 has got to be the worst yet. I think I've shed more tears this past year than in 2005 (i hope this won't turn out to be a 5 year lapse thing).

My maturity, i'd have to say develops quite slowly (But defiantly a lot faster than some i know). But in these 24 years, I've matured into the person i am now. There's a still a lot more work to go, some tweaking here and there, but in time, i'm confident i'll be fully content with the person that i am.

Primary school- bossy, selfish
Elementary school- shy, quiet
High school- bitchy, nice, emo
College- Nice, respectful, considerate
Now- compassionate, kind, mature

Perhaps that is not how other's will view me, but that is how i view myself as in these 24 years of mine. I've grown up, I've learned from experiences, watched and learned, faced life trials, bettered from my errors. This is the me now. Gaining more and more confidence as the years go by.

Let's all have a wonderful new start. Hope everyone a happy 2011.

Christmas Haul (What did YOU get for Christmas?)

Christmas, snowboarding and New Years!

Sorry everyone, been a little lazy with the blogging lately. Don't you just hate when that happens? Now this blog will be super long, because there were a lot happening in the month of December.

Christmas Eve.

I had my early birthday dinner this night since a lot of them couldn't make it for my actual birth date. It's okay, it worked out as a combined Christmas/birthday celebration. It was a small gathering, we went to Mandarin Buffet to stuff our faces with holiday goodness and had a lot of cheesecake to boot. For the entire month of December,   there had been a lot of buffet dinners going on, i am quite surprised i hadn't gained any extra unwanted weight. I guess part of the reason is because my wisdom teeth was hurting me for majority of the month, and i had been rationing on congee for quite a while. I had to force myself to eat real food because i didn't want to miss out on all the good stuff. Mom only made me pure plain congee because it was painful to chew even tiny pieces of meat/veggies.
Lastly, the girls came over to my house after dinner, and we had a nice girly talk. I really miss these special little moment, i never have enough of those. I really enjoyed the short time of closeness.

Me and the beauties on Christmas Eve.

December 25th.

Comes Christmas Day. I really wished i had Christmas spirit this day but i really didn't. Mainly because it didn't snow and i really wasn't in the mood this year for some reason. but also maybe the reason is behind my teeth, they were still hurting like a b!tch!
My mom was having all our relatives come over for a Christmas party, so she started cooking since early morning. Jacky came over early morning as well so we an open presents under the tree together.

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree...

A coach bag from him=)

The Jewelery Box palette from Tarte, also from him =)

Opening presents i got for him

Second one

Got him two 24" Samsung monitors and a (engraved) 4th generation iPod Touch: The reason why i will no longer go out and shop or go on vacations in 2011

We spent the entire day at home trying to suck in all the festive air. The only time we went out was for lunch at McDonalds.  People at McDonalds are so unfestive or i should say...so rude. It's Christmas Day, please at least smile or wish us a Merry Christmas. but we got neither, not even a small smile. C'mon guys, smiles are free. So after that we went back home and dinner was served soon after we did so. Mom cooked a lot of food, crazy amount, i wish my wisdom teeth wasn't hurting so much, that way i could have ate more and actually enjoyed it.

Congee for me :(

Yummy food for Chirstmas

Loads of asian goodness!

And we ended the night of us cousins playing mah jong =)

December 26th.

Boxing day.
The day of utter madness.
I hate, yet i love it.
Shirley and i went to Vaughn Mills like we did the previous year. I really wanted to go to Yorkdale, but it's near impossible to go there. We left pretty early in the morning, and we already saw a lineup on the highway going to yorkdale. Crazyness!
We shopped for 7 hours. I know, it's crazy, but we literally stayed in the mall for that long. I didn't really buy as much as i thought i would, there really weren't that many sales going on which really sucked. I bought a few items for regular price which is pretty stupid of me, but what can i do, they weren't on sale. I really like the giant forever 21 at Vaughn Mills, but there was just too many people and everything was all scattered on the floor and nothing was where they were supposed to be. Many things i liked but change rooms was so long and i didn't have the patience to wait as i was already very tired from shopping. I ended up just getting a new jacket that was regular price. Booo me. A lot of my co-workers went to buffalo on boxing day and they came back with bags and bags and bags of stuff because they said the sales were crazy there and everything was dirt cheap. They didn't even tax them at the border for buying so much stuff because there were so many tour bus there and they were super busy to look at a small fry car. So lucky, i wish i could've been there.


December 27th.

Time to snowboard baby!
Went to blue mountain with a bunch of people. We got there before they even opened, so we didn't have to go through the hectic lineup and risk not finding a locker. The others were pretty late getting there and when they did get there, they ended up going to the other side instead of where we were so we decided to go on own own and just meet back up at lunch time.

My jacket makes me look like i'm pregnant...

This trip was very satisfactory, i'm so proud of myself this time around that i didn't even fall down once! Except getting off the lift the first couple of times and the time when Able lost control and ran me over from behind ahhaha. I'm still terrified of lifts, i still can't get off without loosing my balance. I loved how in the end, i got to ride the lifts between Jacky and Sandie, and i just held on to both of them and i got off safe and sound. So happy i got a right and a left hand with me that day haha <3
I've been trying to do small zig zags throughout the day and i guess it worked a little. I still can't carve and i still can't go backwards, but as long as i don't fall while going down, i'm very happy already. i do want to go a couple more times this year before the snow starts to melt though. More people is defiantly a lot more fun. I should really get my own gear next winter, buying a package every time is too expensive, and my wallet is really hurting lately :(
We left at around 7ish and we all met back to eat dinner at Hollywood with the adition of Johnny of came back from NYC for a week and Gary who came back from HK also.

Wow almost everyone here is from high school!

December 28th.

Got one of my wisdom teeth removed today, the day before my birthday...just great. Terrible year for me. Another dent in my wallet, even if i do get to claim it and get my money back, but that's going to take a while. Then i went to buy antibiotics. Can you believe 6 measly pills cost me nearly $40? ridiculous!
After getting my tooth yanked out and with a mouth still full of blood, Jacky, Gary and i went to the movies to watch Gulliver's travels. It was a cute yet stupid movie haha.


December 29th.

Happy birthday to me =)
How do i feel turning 24?
OLD!
I hate it! Life is slipping through my fingers and theres nothing i can do. I look at all the people around me living their life to the fullest. Going on vacations, enjoying every moment, doing something every second. And look at me, what the F*CK am i doing?
Even at family gatherings, i'm not the center of attention anymore :( I'm just one of the other old ones now. Life is going way too fast for me, and i'm far behind.
The day started with me celebrating my birthday at Mix2 karaoke with the Engineers. I'm starting to really enjoy their company, they are really nice people. Their conversations are so smart and confusing, but i love listening. Then again, i learn to not get too attached to people. Save myself the hurt. I told everyone to dress up for me, and i love how they all listened. Everyone showed up with a dress shirt and tie haha!
I haven't karaoked for so long, it felt so good just to sing it all out. Mix2 doesn't have a lot of songs that i'm used to at Ten23. We sang a bunch of old songs like spice girls and what not, it was so fun, too bad we couldn't stay the whole day because dinner was at 6ish and it was all the way at Vaughn.

My birthday glam up

purple and white

They dressed up! So cute!

Gary doesn't smile in pictures

Annie and i

After karaoke, we went to dinner. Jacky picked the restaurant called "Juicy Olive". It's a nice cozy resturant, and i guess it was a quiet night because we ended up being the only ones there and just a  few people at the bar. Which was good, we had the whole place to ourselves. Wallace joined us for dinner and Gary went home. We ordered appetizers and i had steak as usual for birthday. The food was pretty good. Could be better though ahahha. The boys all got me a delicious tiramisu cake! I get so happy receiving cakes for my birthday. I had two this year =) Thanks to Cindy <3 Afterwards, i opened presents and then our hot waitress helped us take some pictures.

So happy i get to blow out a candle

presents <3

Thanks for the camera baby!

My new love <3

Group picture =)

And one with the boyfriend <3

After dinner, i suggested we go to putting edge to do some mini golfing, but when we got there they were already closing. So we decided to go to bubble tea. First we went to Go for tea, but it was super packed so last resort we went to TenRens and we were lucky enough to get a table right away. We had a midnight snack, some had dimsum and i shared a ice cream waffle with Jacky and William. They made it look so yummy!

So yummy!

December 31st.

New years Eve.
And Happy Birthday Shirley!

We celebrated Shirley's 24th birthday together with countdown. This year we went to Honest Lawyer's once again. There were a lot less people than there were the previous year. Shirley had reserved 3 tables but unfortunately, no one else showed up except for our one table. I hope you still had a good time. They had dinner there, and we got shirley a jaggerbomb since she was looking sad. Later on she had more drinks. Our table was right beside the dance floor so we got to dance anytime we wanted. Across from our table is another birthday party full of single asian guys that kept talking to us. And there was this one guy who kept trying to make a move on me totally ignoring jacky who was right beside me. That is rude, i thought guys have a code, you know, if you see a girl is taken, you step away. But not this guy! Shirley got hit on from someone at that table too, and mindy also got an admirer, but mindy being mindy, total IGNORE. hahaha.
We danced for a bit, and then it was countdown. After that there was a lot more dancing and we left soon after that. I really have no tolerance for alcohol, i only had a tiny tiny cup of champagne and already i felt tipsy and happy and jiddery. No more drinking for me, like ZIP! no more!
It was a good night, Happy new years everyone! Hope everyone have a wonderful 2011!

Me, shirley and her boyboy

cheers!

happy new years!

Just a bit of boob grabbing to start of the new year