My Sister Got Married on the Weekend!

I’ve been away from the blog for a bit because my sister just got married this weekend. Even though it wasn’t my own, there was still a lot of running around getting everything organized for her big day.

Nash and I caught garter and the bridal bouquet, so I guess we really are next.

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On brand 👏🏻#tianash

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Now that my sister is married, we can focus on planning our own. I’m so excited. I felt like I learned a lot from the weekend on all the things that still need to be done.

I can’t believe we’re all grown up now and I’m super excited for my little sister.

My 3 Fave Dudes

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Spent my weekend with these dudes

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I spent Thanksgiving with my 3 fav dudes. We didn’t really do anything but sit around the whole day, which in the body of somebody who is a big ball of anxiety is like really hard to do. I can’t be not doing anything.

I took a lot of naps, pet the dog a bunch, watched Netflix comedy specials, finished Stranger Things (it was so good). Sometimes it’s good to let your brain turn off (or at least try), for a few days.

My Sibling

It was National Sibling Day over the weekend and I dug up a few old photos of me and my sister. We used to be put in a lot of strange matching outfits and colourful dresses. I look like I’m a watermelon in the photo above.

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Haha young jay fans #nationalsiblingday

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I remember in elementary school a Blue Jay player visited and we had an assembly and we all received hats. To this day, I have no idea if my parents even knew what the hats were for. I don’t think they knew what the Blue Jays were at the time of this photo (but they obviously do now because of last year’s success).

It’s strange how time flies and to look back at these old photos. I’m lucky to have had someone to share a lot of my life with. We might not always get a long but I don’t know where I’d be without her.

Thanksgiving Weekend

Here are some photos of my Thanksgiving weekend! On Saturday I went to a wedding dinner.

DSCF5884This is my lovely sister.

DSCF5886Chocolate as wedding favours is always a win!

DSCF5887Matching gold cake!

DSCF5888Our first course for dinner was this roast pig with flashing disco eyes. I somehow was too busy eating (and talking to people) the rest of dinner that I forgot to take photos until dessert.

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Here is dessert. Some cream puffs and other things I don’t know how to describe!

On Sunday, we celebrated Thanksgiving and I again cooked the family turkey! Here are some random photos of our dinner (and Teddy).

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Growing Tomatoes

 

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My sister grew these beautiful cherry tomatoes at home that are finally ripening.

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Mmm look good enough to pick off and eat.

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Teddy wants some too!

My Sister Turned 25

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My little sister just turned 25. I can’t believe it! It makes me feel ancient. We celebrated over the weekend with a Caramel Crunch cake. Here are some random photos of us posing at it:
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Blowing out the candles:

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We also had dinner at a random Chinese restaurant we’ve never been to and tried their Xiao Long Baos and something called “Sweet and Sour Fried Fish In a Squirrel Shape”. I’m not entirely sure where they get the “squirrel” from, but it does make for some great photos!
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Happy 85th Birthday Grandma!

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Last weekend we celebrated my grandmother’s 85th birthday. My grandpa had passed away 2 years ago and grandma had some difficult times afterwards (including a stroke) but she is a strong woman. She has a crazy memory for her age and also an appetite for food that I totally inherited.

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Seriously though, she lives for gatherings with people that involve going out and eating. It doesn’t matter what sort of physical ailments she goes through, the fact that we’re all there is enough to put a smile on her face!

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Random selfie with Nash

 

 

Looking Forward Not Back

By the end of last year, I accomplished many personal goals. I got a new job, I took a trip to the East Coast, bought a new laptop, and finally moved out and got my own place in downtown Toronto.

I’m determined to keep the momentum going and remain optimistic about the future. However, there are always emotion hurdles to face. I’m technically on contract for my job and my parent’s still say things to me like “Don’t buy a couch in case you have to move back home”.

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So I bought a couch. Failure is not an option for me. Neither is looking back and moving back home (at least to me) would be seen as moving backwards. I will work my hardest to either have extended employment or create a new opportunities elsewhere. Though well meaning, I will not let less than positive thoughts  affect me. In the wise words of Yoda: “Do. Or do not. There is no try.”

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Livia

Livia
I rarely shoot posed portraits, but my sister got baptized yesterday and I thought I’d take some photos while everyone was dressed up.
Livia & Mom
Livia & Paul
Livia & Paul
These were all shot using the 24-70mm 2.8L on my Canon 60D. I also used the right light from Photojojo.

A Gallery in Memory of Grandpa

Last week grandpa passed away, partly due to old age and also because he had a cancerous tumor in his liver. Our family didn’t know until he was too fragile to cure. He was 90.

My mom’s father was a lover of beautiful things. He loved to garden, care for his exotic fish and loved decorating the house with nicknacks and birds that were the source for an old photo collection of mine. He liked to sew clothes, taking old pieces and turning them into something new.

He was also a fine artist who hung his work proudly in the living room, kitchen and hallways of his house. He drew in various mediums including watercolour, pencil, crayons and sparkles. Besides canvas, he also drew on any surface he could find including old cardboard. I didn’t realize until recently that there were tons of them.  Grandpa wanted his work to be seen by visitors. He never understood what the internet was, but I think he would have loved to share his art with the world. Below are a collection of his works I uploaded using Genius Scan for the iPhone.

Yim Pui Ng (1923-2013)

This one is drawn on the back of a ping-pong table. You can even see the legs sticking out in the photo:

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As you know, I’m also a lover of the arts whether it be music, photography, fine art or written word. I now know, I have grandpa to thank for that.