Tatiana's Wanderings

It's Earth Day 2020 today! I also temporarily got QUADRUPLE DIGITS IN MY BANK ACCOUNT again! Hopefully, my spending habits are a little better than they were the LAST time this happened! Also, I won't need to give $900 of my own money for a family trip like the ICBC insurance settlement. Of course, that only lasted for the time it took me to go banking, never mind grocery shopping! I think I'll just continue my usual money habits this time.

After dealing with a stupid Reddit Vancouver troll, I went banking and shopping at 11:25 AM on a 407 with my Asian old lady shopping cart, noting that the 414 shuttle bus would be discontinued next week as per a sign at the bus stop. Briefly peeked into London Drugs, and at least I didn't have to walk all the way around the block from Moore's clothing store to get to Royal Bank this time, unlike LAST payday! I got NEW Iogo cherry yogurt, NEW on-sale Oikos strawberry-raspberry / Zesty lemon-lime Greek yogurts x2, NEW Lysol Click Gel toilet bowl cleaner x3 (SPRING WATERFALL!) which was really easy for me to unwrap and apply, on-sale Earth's Own original almond milk, a NEW on-sale Tao Kae Noi BIG SPICY SEAWEED ROLL box with nine of them, chocolate orange Jaffa Cakes, and Shin Ramyun Black CUP noodles x2.

Also purchased NEW Western Family regular grated Parmesan cheese (green), NEW Western Family light grated Parmesan cheese (yellow), NEW Pulmuone Katsuo Soba Ramen noodles, NEW Ottogi Super-Spicy Yeul Ramen noodles, NEW Ottogi sesame ramen noodles with an egg block, Western Family mixed frozen vegetables AFTER TWO MONTHS, and a LUCKY 24-pack of Purex toilet paper. When I got home at 2:15 on a 407 with a nice friendly understanding bus driver, I paid my Shaw and hydro bills online. after text exchanges with both Erics about life, I went out again at 7:05 and luckily got another 12-pack of Purex double rolls along with some Old Dutch Restaurante salsa con queso (cheese salsa) and a big bag of Western Family mixed frozen vegetables for more peace of mind.

I also got Green Works toilet bowl cleaner x2 since I can just turn the cap and not have to squeeze it in impossible or difficult positions like I have to do with Lysol or Scrubbing Bubbles. London Drugs also has this, and I forgot about this till now. Got home at 8:10 on a 407 and tested out the Starfrit jar opener on the salsa jar. I hit the jar on the counter first to hopefully break the seal, tried opening it a few times, then I made a mistake by tilting the jar.... I think after that spill, I'll postpone a shower and laundry till at least tomorrow!


Hungry Man Boneless Fried Chicken microwaveable meal... YAY!




[( Smoking Backyard Barbecue! )

Since Chinese Eric confirmed that he is coming over tomorrow, I went to Shoppers at 5:15 on a 401 and bought President's Choice Smokey Bacon and Chive quiches, Reser's Main St. Bistro signature mashed potatoes, and President's Choice meat lasagna. $26 every few months isn't that bad, and I already have chips galore here! Got home at 6:05 on a 407, too!


From Reddit on October 13, 2019: No, BamSlamThankYouSir, we do not refer to children as "vagina-having children." Also, ALL women have vaginas!




Knorr Teriyaki Noodles Sidekicks!

Today is No Bra Day! After COFFEE TIME, I went out at 3:10 on a 407 to go to the family Thanksgiving Dinner. Killed time at Shoppers Drug Mart by buying on-sale M and Ms in Hazelnut Spread flavor, on-sale Life store brand honey lemon cough drops (the pharmacy students didn't understand the word "lozenge"...), and NEW on-sale Live Clean foaming body washes: Shea and Murumuru Butter, plus Mango and Aloe Butter! I must have LOST MY COMPASS CARD on the 3 Downtown bus (which I just managed to get at 4 PM) because I couldn't find it when I left Jon's! It definitely wasn't in my pockets or on the floor that I could see. I need to stop stuffing things in my pockets! UGH!

Anyway, I read six whole books to Hiero (BERENSTEIN BEARS / three STAR WARS / one BATMAN / one Monkey book) and remembered to enjoy the moments of him on my lap and listening. Ayler wanted to read the bus timetable, tell me about decimals (in Grade 2?!) and division in Grade 3, and said "Are you kidding me?!" in Cantonese a lot. When Harmony got back with Beckett, he wanted to play with me, so I made him laugh at the baby pop-up toy. He also went up to Mom, who didn't seem to know he was there, so Jon and I had to say that Beckett was saying hi to her! Of course he also wanted to play with the HP printer display, which had changed into Chinese for Hiero-related reasons. Dad eventually managed to fix it, so was blocking Beckett from playing with the display. He wanted to grab my hat, but I said no. Mom said something about SIM cards and Steph's number and phone. Sure, whatever. She also referred to me as "Fat Aunt" with him - UGH!

Due to the dinner configuration, I sat next to Beckett while eating cheese / apple slices / turkey / gravy / kimchi / cranberry sauce / pizza bread / Brussels sprouts / salad. He grabbed my sweater a few times (I JUST washed it!) and threw food around as usual. Later, he wanted to crawl to my chair when he'd finished eating and Harmony had cleaned him up, but was blocked by Ayler's special chair. I did play with him more after I myself had finished eating and washing my hands: he still throws the little Play=Doh container at people, as well as all the balloons that were on the floor.

Then Beckett cried when a balloon popped! He also cried when he was really done with dinner, as in real tears and everything! Later, Harmony had to put him down for sleeping, so we waved goodnight to him. Harmony was surprised when Beckett imitated what I was doing; that was the FIRST TIME EVER that he waved to ANYONE, so I must have the magic touch! (like I did with Hiero in 2014 when he wouldn't let Harmony sleep) Since Jon agreed to drive me to King Edward Station later, Mom and Dad left because there were only 12 inches of room between the carseats in their vehicle. Hiero asked me about that later, using the correct family names, so I gave him an answer. I later discovered that I had somehow lost my bus pass! Jon gave me $6.50, which was it (that's fine) and enough to cover Tuesday's fare as well. Got home at 9:10 on a 401 (I'd missed a 407 by a few minutes) and then thought that maybe the bus pass could be between the couch cushions. If not, then I will call the Lost and Found Office / Ministry on Tuesday morning.


Random stuff from Mom and Dad: Western Family hot and spicy pasta sauce, plus a small silver pan thing.


Live Clean foaming body washes: Shea and Murumuru Butter, Moringa and Matcha Butter, plus Mango and Aloe Butter!




Western Family hot and spicy pasta sauce!




What is with this weird VerifyError Spectrum Plugins error message when I try to post phone pictures on Facebook?!

It's National Punctuation Day today... MY FAVORITE! After COFFEE TIME, I had to leave at 2 on a 401 and then a 410 (which I just got to on time, no thanks to idiots blocking my path on the sidewalk) for my appointment with Dr. Ruby before I helped with the kids. That was uncomfortable - I also saw a professional Audrey. Also, I had to buy more NEW Beehive Burst Peppermint lip balm at the Dollar Tree since there was no photo online that I could find, so I had to take my own photo. (I had ripped mine open last week before I figured this out...) I was there on time, but STILL had to wait 20 minutes to be seen! UGH! I should have gone to Dollar Tree before rather than after! Then I tried to speedwalk over to Lansdowne station a block and a half away, and just missed a Waterfront train thanks to these two slow ladies on the elevator going down.

When I got to Marine Drive station, I definitely needed a snack, so I went to Tim Horton's. Luckily, there was no lineup, so I got a non-sticky cheese tea biscuit and then got out of there to find that a wheelchair wanted to get on the 3 as well. Then a stroller wanted to get on - at least this one contained a fairly curious kid who growled and made various noises, unlike the other stroller who got on after that one left! After another delay caused by the driver stopping in the middle of the road for five minutes to check an alarm that was going off, I finally got to Mount Pleasant at about 4:20 when I could have been there at 4:05! Too many delays! Yeah, I used Term to complain to via text, haha.

Inside, Penny was just finishing up speech therapy while Beckett was failing at napping again. Almost right after Penny left, it was off to the park across the street because Harmony wanted to walk Beckett around the playground to see if he'd nap then. Spoiler alert: He did not. Ayler asked if I wanted to play tag or Manhunt - no, because I had run out of energy and was like a car which had run out of gas. Hiero asked why I walked how I did, so maybe Jon and Harmony should talk to him about it at some point. Once we got home again after more promises of consequences, I got to play with Beckett for a bit. He liked the baby pop-up toy because it made him laugh more than usual, wanted me to shake my head a lot because it was funny, liked PEEK-A-BOO as per Hiero, tried eating my DRAGON HOODIE strings again, and climbed on me a few times. (he did pull Hiero's hair, though!)

At the same time, Hiero was trying to show me his origami. Blowing up squares to make huge boxes, oh my! Later, I stayed close as Beckett crawled on the couch despite Ayler telling me not to let him do it. Well, you're doing and completing a HUGE connect-the-dots puzzle, so I'll do what I want while keeping Beckett safe in my own way, including trying to put on one of his missing socks. We had salmon, congee, Chinese chicken soup, meatballs with ketchup and barbecue sauce, some veggies, and ridiculous amounts of shredded pork. Then we talked about whether Jon had been shot today at the Downtown Eastside (he was fine and didn't have to lie on the floor as per Hiero's question), why people shoot at each other ("because some people think that the best way to resolve their problems is with guns" and "that's why we don't joke about guns"), my Cactus Club birthday dinner, Ayler seeing Brooke early this morning ("how do you know?"), Hiero doing flips and gymnastics in the elevator earlier and being injured, and how much everyone in the family could eat compared to each other.

After I washed dishes for a bit, I read to Hiero about Optimus Prime and the Decepticons, then listened to Ayler play a boogie on the piano before listening to him read a Level 2 story about polar bears. Sure I had to help him with some words, but that's normal. I left at 7:20, but couldn't get a 3 bus till 7:40 thanks to a couple of buses being out of service! I missed a Brighouse train by five minutes, and JUST managed to get a 407 at Brighouse, no thanks to people blocking my path where I was going to run to the front door of the bus. Do I really have to shove my way past other people all the time to get where I'm going in a timely fashion?! I got home at 8:35, checked my mail, and found Julie's birthday card plus random stuff - yay!


Random stuff: Nathan returning the OUTLANDER novel to me, six packs of Compliments Safeway brand spicy chicken instant noodles, and yet another pair of reading glasses. Good thing I didn't buy the Jergens lotion today because of all the walking I had to do, AND the utter weight of the 650-page paperback book!


From WINGS Restaurants and Pubs: Pumpkin spice chicken wings for fall 2019?! BLEH!




( Peppermint lip balm, birthday swag, Compliments instant noodles, a bunny, construction workers looking out for the baby rabbits, doughnut drawing at the hospital bus stop, Polestar planner )