what i've been putting in my mouth

i used to have an ongoing food and drink photo blog called "put it in my mouth", but since my fbook account is currently deactivated the eye teaser of yummy goodness is currently lost in cyberspace.

so i've decided to continue the food porn legacy here on my actual blog.

this is what i've been putting in my mouth recently...

deep fried california roll, calamari roll, tei roll (deep fried lobster) at Sushi Tei

walnut & avocado salad at Artisano

smoked duck salad at Spoon and Fork

hot roll (deep fried tuna) at Spoon and Fork

deep fried cheesecake at Spoon and Fork

ranch kettle chips at Kelsey's

baja fish tacos at Joey Don Mills

as you can see, i really need to go on a diet!

what's the 411?

if you follow me on twitter, you've probably figured it out... yes, yes, 26er and i are "together". 

we had the "talk" just short of 2 weeks ago and at the end of it, i thought we were "seeing" each other. little did i know at the time that "seeing" to him means we're bf & gf. LOL! guess i'm in a relationship then! 

don't worry. i wasn't tricked into being his gf. i genuinely like the guy. a lot. he makes me happy and just the thought of him does. but is it bad i still have feelings for my ex? if my ex were to ask me back today, i would definitely say "NO". but if he had a million dollars attached to him, i might change my mind. i imagine the begging would go something like this...

him: "i've been thinking about you for quite some time and no matter who i date, i still can't get you off my mind. can you please reconsider our decision to not be together anymore? i miss you so much and i now realize you're my match and the only one i can truly see myself with." 

me: "hmmmmmm... no. i don't think so..."

him: "but Maur, how bout if i give you a million dollars right now? would you consider getting back with me?"

me: "let me see the cash."

him: "here it is. all in this bag." he proceeds to open the bag and show me.

me: grabs the bag. "okay, i'll think about it."

here are the facts:

• 26er is my bf and i want to be with him.
• i still have feelings for my ex, but given the chance, i would not get back with him. 

question:

is it wrong to be in a relationship with 26er?

another fact... my relationship with 26er is complicated. not because of "us", but because of the circumstances. unfortunately, we have to be careful about who knows about us and where we go because we have to avoid certain people seeing us together. and if i was still on facebook, we would not be able to be open about us. which means no photo posting of us, no status updates involving what we do plus i wouldn't be able to befriend his friends. i'm not gonna lie, that sucks. thankfully, i'm not on fbook anymore.

and his age... he's considerably younger than me. being with him is what i may want right now, but realistically, am i wasting my time? what do you think?

(via)

January 2011 photos + a surprise in the mail!

finally, i can finish the new year blog challenge! 

the final prompt is...

a photo of myself in 2011 (solo or with other people, things i love, etc.)

taken by 26er on Sat, Jan 22/11

w/ Mason Lucas (1 day old) on Sun, Jan 23/11

at work on Mon, Jan 24/11

and that concludes the new year blog challenge hosted by the beautiful Reni who also happens to be my sista-from-anotha-mutha who lives in the country just south of me but west coast time. 

P.S. Reni! look what i received in the mail today! YAY! thank you, thank you for the thoughtful wishes while away on your Costa Rica vacay. love it!

hand written thoughtfulness (on the back) by Reni while in Costa Rica

2011: what would i do differently?

just 2 more prompts left to go in the new year blog challenge, but unfortunately i can not finish today... i have yet to take a photo of myself this year. thanks again Reni for this fun challenge!

question 9...

what would i do differently this year?

i have one word for you. ME! i'm doing me this year! i'm focusing on me... doing what i want to do... putting me 1st... that's right! it's all about the selfish approach. not to worry, i'll still be doing everyone else too. but this time i've added me to the list. and i've added me to the top of the list!

prompt 10... 

the last and final prompt of the new year challenge...

a photo of myself in 2011 (solo or with other people, things i love, etc.)

to be continued....

i'll probably get 26er to take a photo of me tomorrow when we go for sushi. we've decided to make sushi our regular Sunday staple. in the meantime, enjoy some 2010 photos...

Chelle's stagette at "Sweet Tears", Revival

VanCity - on a boat with Mary & Cris

with Aven (my dear good friend from back when)

Honolulu luau with Darren & Cris

with Marie. CONGRATULATIONS to Marie on being a new mom! Mason Lucas (7lbs 11oz) BORN TODAY, January 22, 2011 at 12:04am

 side note...

26er UPDATE: i've pretty much seen him everyday this week. and i don't mind it at all!

2011 excitement + fashion + travels

 

if you've been keeping tabs on my blog this year then you know i'm completing the new year blog challenge - courtesy of the beautiful, fricken fabulous, sweetheart and fellow blogger, Reni. It's not too late to join in. you can find it here. i'm half way through the challenge.

prompt 6 is...

what am i looking forward to in 2011?

asian sensation 2011 (more deets at the bottom of this post) 
summer, heat, patio weather
discovering the uncertain future i have with 26er 
 

the next question is...

fashion style or trends i'd like to see in 2011?

i would like to be a stylin, trendy girl, but unfortunately i am not. i don't read or look at fashion mags. i don't keep up or am infatuated with any celebs and what they're rockin. i'm pretty much a plain jane, but a plain jane who sports it well. currently, i am loving the skinny jeans. if anything, that's the fashion trend i don't want to ever end. all i need to do is purchase more skinnies.

prompt 8...

my travel plans for 2011.

Asian Sensation 2011 in viva Las Vegas (via)

  asian sensation 2011: a fun-filled, crazy-ass, a little over a weekend in Vegas (baby) with my (asian) blogger friends: Leesh (also known in real life), Steph (also known in real life), Reni (so far only known over the internet space), Elisse (also only known over the internet space). we hope to grace sin city with our (hot) presence during the birthday weekend Reni and i share plus we're planning to add a 6th asian blogger to the mix which has yet to be determined.

paradise (via)

  somewhere beautiful, hot and relaxing: my very good VanCity friend, Cristina and I usually travel somewhere each year. last year was Hawaii. this year, maybe Cabo? our travel plans are based on us! whoever joins will have to succumb to our schedules. it's all about the Cris and Maur show, but everyone is welcome!

NorCal (San Jose & San Francisco), Vancouver: these are the cities i dream about moving to. these are the home cities of people i love. and these are cities i fell in love with when i first laid eyes on them.

i left my heart in San Franciso - July 2009

on a boat in Vancouver - August 2010

inspirational quote of 2011 + accomplishments of this year

here's the 4th question of Reni's new year blog challenge...

what is my favorite inspirational quote for new year's?

"what at first may appear to be an ending, is often a new beginning." this is the quote in the photo i posted in my 1st blog entry of the year. and this is the saying i need to say to myself when i'm down and out to remind me that something had to end in order to make room for something better to come.

prompt 5 is...

three things i'd like to accomplish in 2011.

1. quit trevor (aka smoking)
2. find another opportunity at OLG (my current employer)
3. have enough money saved to put a down payment on a home

the above are some pretty huge goals. but it's time to have some milestones in my life.

(via)

the meaning of the new year + 1/1/11 horoscope

question 2 of the new year blog challenge is...

what does new year mean to me?

the new year didn't mean much to me before. basically it only meant new years resolutions and typically every year i would give something up. (2010 i gave up chicken wings, but caved in November. i think 10 months without that greasy wonderfulness was a pretty good run!) however, this new year i'm taking a different approach. instead of giving something up, i've decided to take a focused approach on ME! so 2011 is all about me!.. what i want to do! whatever makes me happy! i'm tired of putting everyone else first... so this year i'm number one on my list!

the 3rd question is...

what does my horoscope say on new year's day?

"Just because someone is out of sight doesn’t mean they’re out of mind, and vice versa. Someone has been thinking about you for a while now, and has maybe even started a few games of phone tag. Make an extra effort to connect with them. Send an email or reserve time for a long phone call. The people from your past aren’t to be left in the past. Bring the special people with you along your journey through life. It’s easier than you think."  

i have mixed emotions about my above horoscope especially because i'm currently trying to leave the past in the past...

(via)

1st thoughts of 2011

GOOD MORNING BLOG WORLD! 

i've been up since 5am on this Monday, January 3rd, 2011 morning and i have today off. it is so like me to be awake at the crack of dawn on a day when i don't have to go to work. damn me!

if you read my previous post, you know i'm completing Reni's new year blog challenge. here's question #1...

what was the first thing that came to mind after waking up on new year's day?

two things came to mind... something new (mildly-crushing-on guy who is now known as 26er) and something old (the dude).

for the low down on both guys... you will find mentions of 26er here and here. and you will find details of the dude here, here, and sad/bad mentions of him here, here, and here.

sometime last week i mentioned on twitter that i may be "using" 26er. i recently realized exactly what i'm using him for... he's the something new and the only thing right now that is capable of making me forget about the something old...

(via)

the new year blog challenge

cheers 2011! it's the opportunity for a fresh start... so i welcome you with open arms and am excited to discover what this new year will bring! please, please, pretty please bring me some excitement. my life needs to be turned up a couple of notches! LOL!

with this new year, my fellow blogger/twitter/fbook friend Reni created the new year blog challenge. she is currently enjoying the sun, sand and water in Costa Rica. hope you're enjoying yourself Reni and having a grand time! you deserve it! 

here are the 10 questions/prompts of the new year blog challenge. feel free to join in on the fun!

1.  what was the first thing that came to mind after waking up on new year's day?

2.  what does new year mean to you?

3.  what does your horoscope say on new year's day?

4.  what is your favorite inspirational quote for new year's?

5.  three things you'd like to accomplish in 2011.

6.  what are you looking forward to in 2011?

7.  fashion style or trends you'd like to see in 2011?

8.  your travel plans for 2011.

9.  what would you do differently this year?

10.  a photo of yourself in 2011 (solo or with other people, things you love, etc.)

i've decided to complete this challenge randomly. meaning i may do a prompt here and there or maybe a couple a day or maybe a few, but i'll be done by the end of this month. stay tuned for maur...

NYE deets

i opted to be on my own for NYE. i didn't want to deal with the pressure of being around my close friends... (not sure if that makes any sense.) so i decided to go to this party here, where my good friend @sweetmarie's hubby was DJing. unfortunately, she could not join because she's expecting in a month. i'm not gonna lie, i tried to convince her to attend. my argument was she can sit in the dining area and i would go back and forth between the rooms dancing and having conversations with her in the resto area. but in the end, i lost. it just doesn't make sense for a very pregnant lady to be at a sold out NYE jam. DOH!

in not so many words, here's how 2011 started off with a bang!

• spent less than $20 to be trashed out of my mind, feel like a superstar, dance my heart out and end the night/morning with a content belly. NYE was the best less than $20 i have ever spent in my life!

• the oldest guy, the geekiest guy, a swingers couple, a young lesbian couple and then some, all tried to get their groove on with me. the most successful of them all was the young lesbian couple. i counted down the new year with them!

• i kinda whored myself out so i can eat some french fries. but damn it, i was hungry! and drunk! i didn't eat dinner that night. besides, muscle head was with a girl i knew who was also getting fed the french fries by hand... it was the only way he would let us eat them. he was definitely in heaven especially after feeding us once each lips to lips. 

• last minute my debut escort decided to go to the same party. it was great to see him, his gf and other friends there!

and that was my new year's eve. enough said.

(via)

my 1st "i'm not gonna lie" of 2011!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! 

i hope 2011 has been treating you good and it stays that way! new beginnings mean new opportunities and new opportunities are chances for great things. here's to great things happening for you and me this year!

this is my 1st blog post of 2011 and i thought a great way to start blogging this year is to kick off with an i'm not gonna lie blog post. 

 so here it is... 

i give you my 1st blog entry of the year... 

my 1st i'm not gonna lie of 2011...

my new year started off SO GOOD, but ended TERRIBLY. i hate feeling so high and feeling so low all in the same day. i'm not gonna lie, i don't think my heart can it take anymore :(

i'm not gonna lie, it looks like mildly-crushing-on guy has been promoted to crushing-on guy. but due to his age we are now calling him 26er. big ups to my boy Randi for giving mildly-crushing-on guy his new nick name.

they say "time heals all". i'm not gonna lie, i think some things just never heal.

i'm not gonna lie, i'm pretty shocked my whole family is accepting of my cousin being gay. i'm not gonna lie, i didn't think they were so liberal.

i'm not gonna lie, 2 coworkers last month told me i say i'm not gonna lie very often.

i'm still not in the mood to see all my girls in one sitting. i'm not gonna lie, i'm still annoyed from the last time.

if you follow me on twitter, you may know i had a freakout attack just before Christmas. it was odd because the night leading to the freakout was such a fun night with my old skool boyz. expensive alcohol was ever-flowing free of charge and tasty snackies were at my finger tips. i was getting hit on left, right and centre from guys of all ages and also getting props for my personality. i was receiving compliments about everything and anything from strangers and my friends. it was such an ego boost at the time, i have no idea how my big head fit in the venue. any normal person would come home feeling high, but instead i was confused of why "the dude" has completely shut me out. once upon a time, it was so great (as such) and also so good (as this)... i'm not gonna lie, it upsets me so much that he has forgotten about it all. how can old skool and new skool people put me on a pedestal and the dude who i was actually in a relationship with have such a difference of opinion?

i'm not gonna lie, i think this blog post is pretty pathetic because it has a depressing tone to it. (way to start off the year on a positive note Maureen!) thumbs down to me! boooooo!