Latin Fever

Another wonderfully sunny day! I assume, I can only see it through this window *sigh* but at least I get to see it.  This is going to be a short one. Mainly because I’m not feeling the writing today and I only had 1 day off this weekend so there isn’t much to say.

Vancouver is a wonderful place to be and there’s quite a bit to do! (In spite of those people that say “this is so boring, nothing happens here”) I think some people just don’t look, ignore what’s happening or brush it off as something they wouldn’t like without even trying. There’s plenty happening around town almost every night, you just have to keep your eyes peeled and be open to trying new things.

For example, VIVA Vancouver puts something on every weekend in the summer on Granville St. You get to walk up the street and see vendors and shows being put on. One weekend they have public karaoke, which is so fun to listen to, especially when you randomly hear 1 AWESOME person once in a while! So, this past weekend was Latincouver and Carnaval del Sol, with a small stage for performances, a street dance floor and lots of food vendors from different countries. It was really nice to see people having fun and dancing to Latin music with huge smiles.  Besides taking in their joy, I got to spend some time with a couple of friends and the sun. (This is always nice) I don't get to enjoy my own cultural things very often as mi familia lives out east and I don't know many Hispanic people here, so I'll take advantage of this Carnaval once a year! Next year, you should also give it a try even if just to say “there, I went.”

I’m going to make a list of things that happen around town and do my best to check them out; there are no time limits on the yearly events so it may take a while to go through them but it will fun to try! Starting this coming Sunday, I shall be off of work for a week and already have a few things I’ll be checking out. I’ll do my best to remember to take pictures so share with you all!

Have a wonderful week and all that “til later” stuff. Oh and here are a few pics of the finished bedroom paint job I did! 

Long short weekend?

               Happy Birthday Canada! YAY you’re 146 years old today (OK so you’re much older but we’re pretending that the day the Confederation was formed was your birth for this celebration’s purpose) and you look great ;) Enjoy this day because you’ll be overshadowed by your neighbour’s celebration of independence coming up. So today is all about you Canada and how awesome you are, we will celebrate with love, fireworks, music and joy!

               

               This weekend for a lot of people was a long one, at least by work standards. By most people’s standards, it’s still too short  buuut I was lucky and had 3 days off!  So, I took advantage and spent a lot of time away from home in the HOT sun! The weather was beautiful and I got more than my share of Vitamin D!

                

                Let’s start with Friday; I already had plans to see a movie that night and I was worried about it because it was a comedy and I have a hard time with those in a theatre. I find that a lot of times, the preview will make you laugh and then you watch the movie and all the funny bits were in the trailer! That means you pay $10+ to maybe smile when you see the trailer bits in the movie or worse, you don’t even see some of the trailer bits in the movie! Anyway, you can see why I was skeptical and wanted to switch the movie we had planned on seeing.  In the end, my friends were intent on seeing it and I gave in because I really like the actors in it. 

                

              We show up, get some snacks, sit down and I make an “I don’t know about this” face. The movie starts and after 10 minutes in, I’m laughing…out loud…and not just to the trailer bits! Now, I’m not going to sit here and pretend to be a movie critic with comments like “performance was….” and “the method chosen..” blah blah. I will tell you that it was really funny to me, I loved the chemistry of the main characters and the writing was fun! I know not everyone will like it the same way I don’t like some movies that others rave about but I suggest you give it a chance because it was so amusing! It was “The Heat” starring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy.

    (I don't own these pictures, so don't sue me please and thanks!)    

        

                 Next up was Saturday, I was planning a super lazy day but that didn’t happen, instead a friend said we should go to a little park on Commercial Drive for East Van Pride which is organized by Vancouver Pride Society. I almost passed but then decided why not go? It was a small but fun little set up, with vendors and a small stage for performances. I got my first “tan” of the year and remembered how fun summer can be so I look forward to more fun events! Our PRIDE celebrations have started and can’t wait for the parade at the beginning of August.

               That evening we went to the Richmond Night Market, it was my first time there and I giggled because the theme of this year is “Magical Duck Island” so there are literally giant rubber ducks to greet you! There were tons of retail vendors and food vendors. First thing I did was get bubble tea, then we played some of the games they had (we left with 2 big Stitches *the alien from Lilo and Stitch*, 2 bunnies and a bear stuffed animal) then tried some deep friend blueberry cheesecake *drool*. I then had to run away or else I would have bought a bunch more of those! The night air was really nice and made it a wonderful way to end a Saturday night.

               

That brings us to Sunday. I treated a friend to some girl time for her birthday. We got pedicures, did some shopping and ended with a dinner cooked by her husband. Oh how I love home cooked meals…anyone want to make those for me? PLEASE? No? ugh ok, I’ll try to do it then. Moving on, that night I ended up at a girl party that is put on by Flygirl Productions every long weekend called HERSHE Bar. Yes, a clever name that makes you think of chocolate and ladies. It was a good night with good people and good music. Makes me sad I don’t go out dancing more, it really is a great stress reliever and just super fun!

 

Ok, you’re all caught up; I hope you had some time off this weekend and that it was nice! For those that didn’t, make sure you do something really great on your next day off! That’s all for this time folks, I’ll try to come up with something more interesting next time! It would really help if you let me know what sort of things I should write about! Thanks for stopping by, ta-ta for now.