A byootaful Life

Quick note: I’ve made some changes to the way my photos are loaded. If you can’t see them (especially if you are reading this via a feed) please let me know so I can fix it!

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The Vancouver Aquarium, located in Stanley Park, was the number one tourist attraction on my to-do list when I moved here last year and finally, in May, I got my opportunity to go with my Mum when she came to visit. Phill isn’t a big aquarium or zoo person, so if I ever want to visit those places, I need to find someone else to go with me (or go alone, but that’s no fun!). I was super excited when we joined the queue at the door, but it’s a bit of a tease because you’re stuck queuing up to get in while you can see the people who are already inside and enjoying the first few tanks of sea life. Okay, so I’m a little impatient.

The first thing we did once inside was head down the stairs to get a proper look at the first big tank. When we were in the queue, I’d seen a scuba diver in there waving at the kids watching him, but by the time we got in, he was gone. I know it’s just a guy in a wetsuit in a tank, but a part of me still thinks that’s totally awesome and the best job ever.

I was very impressed (and a little surprised!) with the variety of sea life and other animals at the aquarium. I guess they don’t call it one of the best aquariums in North America for nothing! In addition to the usual fish you’d expect to see, there were birds in the tropical room (which played havoc with my camera lens, fogging it up something crazy and giving all my photos from that room a hazy, steamy look)…

… and butterflies in the butterfly room…

…and garden eels sticking up out of the sand (I’d never seen these before and thought they were really really strange)…

…and spiky black urchins with beady white eyes that you definitely do not want to step on…

…and of course there’s a few obligatory Nemos (I found him!)

But I think the highlight of the day had to be C.C the pacific octopus, who contentedly hid in the shadows of the rock in the back of her tank. When I took the following photo, I couldn’t see C.C at all, so I was amazed to see the camera had done it’s thing and there she was, in all her tentacled glory. It was a bit of a shock to see the first photo of her because I didn’t realise she was that big. I wish she’d have come out and had a bit of a swim around but if I had a hoard of children screaming their heads off and banging on my tank, I’d be hiding in the back too.

Our next stop was the jellyfish room. I love jellyfish. I am intrigued by their see-through bodies, their long (and sometimes short!) tentacles and the danger that comes with many of them. They are terrible little things but also beautiful, especially with different lighting effects on them. We spent a while in the jellyfish room while I took a gazillion photos. My Mum was very patient.

So pretty! So weird! After the jellyfish tanks, we decided to go to the 4D movie, which was definitely an experience. They gave us lots of warnings about young children seeing it and of course, as soon as the movie started and the effects began, a good handful of screaming and/or crying children were hurridly removed from the room by their parents. There were a couple effects that made me jump, but I won’t spoil it for anyone hoping to go. All I’ll say is, if you go to the aquarium, really try to see the movie – it was very good!

Stay tuned for Part 2… next up we visit the frogs and then head outside for the sea lions, belugas and seals!

Today, for the first time since moving to Canada, I went to the gym and it was actually, well… enjoyable!

I’m not exactly overweight, but I could definitely stand to lose some kilos and recent events in my life have inspired me to get off my butt and get active. We’ve got a free gym in our building for heaven’s sake, and today Phill and I decided to use it. We’ve been saying we were going to use the gyms in our buildings since we first moved here in September (three apartments ago) but it turned out that exercising was exactly the opposite of what we wanted to do when we stumbled through the door after a long hard day at work.

I was at the gym for about an hour and used the treadmill first and then finished up on the bike machine (the bike made my legs burrrrn!). After a 20 minute jog at 4.3mph with a slowly increasing incline, I figured out how to set it to a pre-programmed workout called the “hill”, which is pretty self-explanatory I guess. I was halfway up the “hill” when I remembered one of my favourite bloggers, Kristin from Iowa Girl Eats, has documented her workout routines on her blog, so as soon as I got upstairs (after a shower of course!) I bookmarked her Workouts page and I’m determined to complete each and every one!

I was honestly expecting the experience at the gym to be horrible; that I’d be sweating and gasping for air while buff shirtless men and skinny girls in yoga pants pointed and laughed at me, but other than getting off the treadmill and almost stacking it because my legs were a little wobbly (slightly embarrassing) it was pretty much a positive experience. Only one other person came in while I was there and although initially I was a little self-conscious, I quickly realised that she was listening to music with headphones on and didn’t so much as glance in my direction (does that mean I successfully passed as a regular at the gym?)

I’m going back again tomorrow and I’m actually excited about it. Of course, exercise goes hand-in-hand with healthy eating, so I’m going to making some changes there too (some of which are going to be hard to stick to!) but I’m pretty determined to make it work.

So, a toast… to new beginnings! I hope you don’t mind if I bring you along for the ride!

It’s been a while. I’ve been very busy, but unfortunately my silence isn’t just due to a heavy workload or crazy social life. Sadly, my Grandma passed away from a heart attack two weeks ago and it’s left me, well, speechless. It’s hard losing a loved one, but it’s especially harder when you’re so far from home. I wish I was able to be there for my family, especially my Dad, as Grandma was his mum.

I’ve been conscious that I’ve been neglecting my blog, but I just haven’t had anything to say.

I’ll be back soon, I just need a little more time.

xx

Yesterday was Phill’s 25th birthday and to celebrate, we had a bunch of friends over for a BBQ. The weather was beautifully sunny and warm and our patio was the perfect size for the group, which ended up being around 20 people. I made burgers earlier in the day (just beef mince, diced onion, garlic and some herbs all mixed together and shaped into patties) and we bought some sausages too. There was a selection of salads to go with the meat including an Asian salad, a Greek salad (minus the olives) and a potato salad. There was also an assortment of dips and nibblies that kept everyone going before the BBQ was started. I had actually forgotten the Canucks game was on at 5pm and of course everyone was plastered in front of the TV to watch them defeat Boston, so nobody was interested in cooking until a little later than initially planned.

Last year I made a Simpsons cake for Phill. It took pretty much all day in the kitchen and while it was fun, it was pretty hard work. This time around, I decided to make an ice-cream cake for Phill, which I’ve never made before. It also marked my first time using Cool Whip (I always pronounce it the way Stewie Griffin does, accenting the “h” for some reason), which I tinted blue and covered with chocolate sprinkles. The ice-cream itself was a nice vanilla bean ice-cream and I’d mixed crushed Oreos into it. Unfortunately I didn’t get a photo with my camera because, well, I was a tad stressed getting everything ready and I forgot. However, I just realised we have left-over cake in the freezer so heck, it’s late and it’s a crappy iPhone pic, but it’s still a photo, right?

There may or may not have been a third Oreo on the side of the cake that I nibbled. And that is absolutely not my fingerprint in the Cool Whip. Just sayin’.

We’ve been relaxing today so far, recovering from last night. The apartment didn’t look too disastrous this morning because it turns out that drunk Kate likes to clean (who’d have thunk it?) and my friends gave me a hand putting on the dishwasher and putting away some pots and pans. It definitely made clean-up this morning easier! Just a quick vacuum, a rubbish run and a mop of the floors and the place is looking pretty good. The best thing about the day after a BBQ is leftovers, so I won’t have to cook dinner tonight – we’ve got a few burgers and a plate of sausages left, plus salads, so it’s going to be another BBQ for dinner (minus the actual BBQ-ing!) We’re probably going to have an early one tonight before back to work tomorrow.

So how was your weekend? Did you do anything special?

Vancouver in the fall was pretty nice…

Vancouver in the winter was pretty nice too…

But I have to say that Vancouver in the spring is my absolute favourite!

Well, I should say it’s my favourite so far… since I haven’t experienced summer yet, but I can tell you now that spring is definitely going to be a hard act to follow! The tulips take my breath away – so many vivid colours and they are everywhere, all over Vancouver. It’s amazing how everything is so healthy and beautiful, compared to the hot, dry Australian surroundings I’m used to. It makes walking to and from work each day a joy.

Well, maybe not a joy, but it definitely makes it a little easier!