New kids on the block had a bunch of hits…

I’m so sorry for my lack of updates over the past few weeks! I’m slowing starting to realize that a full-time job really is a full-time job and extra time at night has been dedicated to working out, visiting with friends and relaxing in the sunshine (can you blame me?)!

Faith and I are slowing starting to realize that the hottest time of the day in Vancouver is typically 4-6pm… whereas in Halifax it’s 12-2ish! It’s really weird that I can get off work at 4:30 and still have time to catch the end of the hottest time of the day. Not complaining :)

I’ve been crazy busy with work (which is what I LOVE) and it’s going great! I just moved into a new office space because the person who was there got a promotion (yay Barb!) and her desk has an incredible view of the back gardens at the Park Board.. birds and squirrels included!

This weekend Faith and I decided to let whatever happened yesterday happen. Go with what ever we felt at that time and set no expectations.. this is what conspired: Friday night drinks + movies + a lovely night out to talk about our week at work.

The Sylvia Hotel – my new favourite place for after work drinks! It’s literally 4 blocks from my work, right on the beach and is one of the oldest buildings in Vancouver.

Saturday was a beautiful day so we headed out on foot to see where our feet would take us! I can’t express how much I love Kits other than keep saying it. I feel so home here it’s amazing. Here are the beautiful hydrangea’s blooming in our front yard!

First stop was coffee for me at 49th Parallel (where else?) and Starbucks for Faith.

Onward to Granville Island Market I say! Along with the droves of tourists there were flowers, fresh bread, cheeses, chocolates, fresh pasta and seafood galore. If you don’t go to local farmers markets I highly suggest you get to one this weekend!

Cherries anyone?

How about we hop on the sea bus instead of taking the bus?

Sounds good to me! :)

After that we walked around downtown, read for a while at Chapters… I just finished Ann Brashares new book Sisterhood Everlasting. If you’ve even read the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants book series (or watched the movies) this is her newest one:

The book takes place 10ish years after the other ones and it was nothing like I expected. It was both sad and exciting and I didn’t want to stop reading! I love the characters in this series and am so glad she wrote this final book. I highly suggest it!

Once we were done there we had a few options on our plate but decided to try to find some last-minute tickets to see New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys (NKOTBSB tour) just because they were in the city and why not! The concert was starting in less than 2 hours and it was a sold out show so we looked on Craigslist to see if there were any last-minute deals going on. I immediately saw a pair for a good price so we called the guy and before we knew it he was driving the tickets right to us!

If it wasn’t lucky enough that we even got the tickets that fast but even crazier was where the tickets were…. the penthouse box suite! We were blown away to say the very least and had an amazing time dancing in our own private section of the huge box (this included our on private bar, kitchen, seats and tables galore to choose from and our own bathroom)!

They are blurry but you get the idea of how far up we were!

Loving life.

Alllll the empty seats just for us!

Private bar.

Where we sat.

Faith loving life.

|

It was one of those things that only happens in the movies… and then just to top it all off, I won two tickets to tonight’s show from a twitter contest! I don’t think anything could have been the time Faith and I had last night so I graciously turned them down so they could draw again and let someone else have a great time at the concert. Thanks @dgbars for choosing me!

What was your favourite band growing up who you’d do anything to see live in concert today?

Oh ya as far as workouts go I’ve been doing a little bit of everything lately… but most importantly I’m back into running! I use my Nike+ sports band for outdoor runs and I LOVE it! Do you use Nike+? Let’s be friends -> amanda_23 Add me as a friend if you use it too!

Real Job: Day 1

Today was my first day of work at the Vancouver Parks and Recreation Board!

It was AMAZING! I already know it’s going to be a perfect fit for me and I’m so excited to dive in and show them what I can do.

My day started bright and early because I had to be there for 7am! They were holding a first-day employee orientation so it was the perfect day for me to start. I got the chance to hear about the organization, their policies and culture, as well as get a good sense of the type of work I will be doing. I’m very glad that I kicked off my first day like that!

I got a few fun things as a welcome including this wicked coffee mug (they already found the way to my heart!)

Just to give you a small idea of where my office is located (right to the entrance of Stanley Park!) I took a few shots to let you take a look for yourself:

Walk way up to the front door!

Huge tree right in front of the building.

Better view of the front entrance – look how amazing the lanscaping is! That’s just a tiny bit of what is actually surrounding the entire building.

Directly across the street.

Someone actually has a house right next door – so cute (and expensive)!

English Bay :)

Sylvia Hotel – one of the oldest Hotels (maybe the oldest?) in Vancouver! It has an amazing view of the beach and look at the beautiful vines all over it. So pretty :)

Other than the fact that my office is located in an incredible place – there is also a small gym and shower facilities in the building! So I can bike to work over the Burrard St. Bridge – cycle along the seawall and come to work – work out – work and then after work hop on my bike and tour the Seaway all before heading home! It’s actually more perfect than I could have ever imagined. 

Now to sell my car and get a bike… honestly – does anyone want to buy Indy (My 2008, Silver Mazda 3) ? She’s been a great car but with this new venture in life I just don’t have the place or need for her out here in Vancouver.

So today I was sitting at my new (randomly placed and quite old – but beautiful none the less) desk when I was thinking about it… did anyone else catch the fact that I’m working for Vancouver Parks and Recreation… Vancouver PR? Crazy huh? If that doesn’t spell out how much this job was meant to be… I don’t know what else will!

Time to go work out and get to bed early tonight – I have another busy and exciting day a head of me!