Who is Janis Behan? A series

Posted on May 10, 2009 by Janis

I took on a little personal project awhile ago, and I am glad to say I have finally finished it! I started out thinking I was going to make just one video, but it turned into two. The first one is an interview with myself on “Who is Janis Behan?” The second one is a selection of testimonials from some of my best friends with the same theme. I would like to thank these lovely girls for agreeing to participate in my geeky little project. It was a lot of fun, but I am very happy to have completed it. Editing video takes a lot out of you!

Well, without further adieu, here is “Who is Janis Behan? Part I”:

“Who is Janis Behan? Part II”: featuring Jerra Pexton, Emily Ingram, Carly Martin, Diana Caldarone, and Elizabeth Betteridge is below. I cannot thank you girls enough!

Photoshoot with Cheech

Posted on May 10, 2009 by Janis

My friend Cheech is a personal trainer, and he wants to start putting together a portfolio, and he asked me to take a few pictures of him to get started. I was very happy to do it for him, because I am really starting to love my camera and I feel like I am learning something new every time I use it.

So we spent Saturday afternoon taking a few shots on his beautiful rooftop patio in Kits, and then we wandered down to a quiet spot on Kits beach for a few more. It was an awesome day for it; absolutely gorgeous weather. Looking back now, though, I wished I had a shield for the sun, because there are a lot of shadows in the photos. Oh well, maybe next time.

I really had a ton of fun doing these photos, and I hope Cheech did, too. It wasn’t exactly hard to take a good photo of this guy. Anyway, here a few of my favourites below.

You can view the rest of the set and the full size photos here.

V @ Earls Yaletown – Grand Opening Party

Posted on April 3, 2009 by Janis

Last night I was one of the lucky folks who got an invite to the grand opening party for V, which is the new vodka lounge located upstairs at Earls Yaletown. My friend Amanda is the Marketing Manager there, and she was kind enough to extend the invitation to some of her family and friends.

So first of all, from the moment I got there, I was impressed. There was a line-up of people to get into the place, but it was roped off and you had to walk the red carpet to get in. The guys greeting you on the carpet were in suits or tuxes and the girls were in cocktail dresses. They checked your name off the guest list, checked your coat for you, and you were in – free drink tickets in hand. All very efficient and professional. So far, so good.

The Ciroc Ice Bar

Next stop, the bar. There were ice bars (completely made of ice) in every corner of the place – upstairs and downstairs. I thought the party was only going to be held in the upstairs lounge, but they had closed off the entire restaurant for the party, and it was full of people. Each ice bar was serving a different type of vodka. We tried the Ciroc straight-up vodka martini first, but later found our way to the Ketel 1 bar. Here you could get a straight-up martini, but add the fruit of your choice. I tried one with blood orange, key lime, and strawberry, and later one with crushed raspberries. You could also choose from things like lemongrass, ginger, or basil. Delicious!

The sweetest bartender!

Em and her martini

I can’t forget the food. There was a table with some crostini, fruit and cheese platters, and the best triple cream brie I’ve ever tasted. They also had servers wandering around with hors d’oeuvres. My friend Carly was waiting all night for the tuna sliders (they look like mini hamburgers but they have tuna in them), but the closest she got was a crab slider. I think my friend Erin said it best: “Martinis, men and mini tuna burgers are a magical combo.” She’s right!

The gals

All in all, it was a great evening. Everyone I was with had a fun time. Good job V, and thank you, Amanda!

A small taste of Juno Fest

Posted on March 31, 2009 by Janis

Emily and I

I had no intentions of catching any shows during Juno Fest, but Emily and I happened to be out Saturday night cruising down Granville Street, and casually walked into a tent where a band was doing a sound check and getting ready to play, so we stuck around to watch. They were a country/folk band called Run GMC. Yes, I know what you’re thinking – silly name – but they were really good! Actually, now that I look back at the video, I think My Dad, and possibly even my Grandma might have enjoyed this show as well, and I find that rather amusing. This might not be everyone’s favourite genre of music, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m glad we happened to stumble upon the show. It felt like a real piece of Canadiana.

more about “Run GMC at Juno Fest on Vimeo“, posted with vodpod

A Fantastic Birthday

Posted on March 20, 2009 by Janis

It might be a bit of a self-absorbed topic, but I thought I would write a little blurb about my recent birthday on March 12th. ‘Cuz it was a good one.

I never planned on doing anything crazy for my birthday, because I didn’t want to make a big deal of it, and go and plan my own birthday party or anything. I told my brothers and my sister-in-law that I just wanted to hang out with them (and my nephew) on my birthday, which fell on a Thursday, because that’s what I’ve done for the past couple of years since moving to Vancouver. Well, Alex, my sister-in-law, was going to be away in Reno, and my nephew Jaxon ended up staying at his Grandparents’ that evening – but my roommate Carly, who is actually my cousin, and also a very good friend, decided she wanted to cook dinner for me. (Okay, I think she’s actually my second cousin, or first cousin once removed, but explaining the Behan family is at least a whole other blog post, maybe even a series.)

Chowing down on delicious prawns.

So Thursday night, Carly was cooking – a Greek feast, might I add. Her sister Cassidy and boyfriend Greg also came over to help her, but I wasn’t allowed to do anything! There was chicken, prawns, spanakopita, roasted potatoes, greek salad, hummus, tzaziki (sp?) and pitas. YUMMM! My brothers Jordan and Wes, and my friend Emily came for dinner, too. My friend Jerra also stopped by after her practicum to give me a birthday present, and she was just in time for some prawns and dessert (ice cream cake that Jordan brought!).

Jerra and her practicum is a whole other blog post, too. She is taking her Social Services course at Langara, and her practicum involves walking around Vancouver’s Downtown East Side with a backpack, handing out juice, water, clean needles, etc. to youth on the street. She is one amazing chick, you take my word.

It was an amazing dinner all around – good food, good drinks, and great company. And in case I haven’t already thanked Carly enough, I’m going to do it one more time – Thank you!!

Emily & Sheralyn thoroughly enjoying their mani-pedis.

Saturday, March 14th, was my friend Sheralyn’s 30th birthday, and she wanted to go out and have some dinner and drinks. So we did! Actually, Saturday was a pretty action-packed day of girly things. Six of us went for brunch at Glowbal in Yaletown, and then for manicures and pedicures at Pure Nail Bar. We even had a glass of champagne while enjoying our pedicures. Then a quick shopping trip with Emily on the way home, and it was already time to start getting ready to go to V , the new lounge upstairs at Earls Yaletown. Quite a few people came out for this, a combination of both my friends, and Sheralyn’s. It was a blast, to say the least. How about one more “thank you” to all of you who made it possible? Muah! That was one great birthday.

A couple of my favourite gals.

The amazing Carly, and Greg, prawn fisherman extraordinaire.

xoxo

My BFF is getting married..

Posted on February 9, 2009 by Janis

..And she’s doing it in VEGAS!

Myself & Jerra, November 2008

Yup, that’s right, I’m going to Las Vegas again… for the third time – and the second time this year. But hey, my best friend is getting married, and I, of course, am in the wedding party!

Originally, my friend Jerra was going to get married here in Vancouver, and even started planning the huge, traditional wedding for approximately 150-200 guests. She soon realized that she hated every second of planning this wedding, because it wasn’t what she wanted. I’m not sure whether it was the number of people that bothered her, all of the planning that had to go into it, or whether she just preferred to have an intimate group of people that she really loved share her special day with her.

Whatever the case, over Christmas she convinced her fiance that a small wedding with less than 50 guests in Las Vegas was the way to go. I couldn’t be more excited!

Although, I have to admit, at first I thought: “Really? Vegas? I mean.. really???” It took a while for Jerra to explain to me that no, she was not going to be married in a wedding chapel, and no, an Elvis impersonator would not be performing the ceremony. She showed me what she had in mind, and it absolutely took my breath away. The ceremony is going to be held at Mandalay Bay, and dinner afterwards will be held at Kahunaville in the Treasure Island hotel.

Mandalay Bay Weddings

So, plans are in the works right now – booking flights and hotels, planning stags and stagettes, arranging details for the day of the wedding, etc. The wedding is to take place June 7, 2009, and it seems as if that date is creeping closer and faster(!) all the time. I may or may not write another entry closer to the date, but I will most definitely post some photos to share the experience after we get back!

Guys Night Out, Girls Ride Free!

Posted on February 9, 2009 by Janis

I can’t believe it’s February already and I haven’t been snowboarding yet this season! This beautiful sunny day today is making me feel guilty about it, too.
gno_logo Mount Seymour is back with their “Guys Night Out, Girls Ride Free” promotion, sponsored this year by Granville Island Brewery. It runs from January 12 – March 16, 2009, Monday nights from 6-10pm. This event supports the BC Cancer Foundation. There are a number of places where you can pick up your free lift pass voucher and they are listed on the Mount Seymour site. I went up once last year with a friend, and it was great. After hitting the slopes, hit up the pub for some great draw prizes.

bc_cancer_logo1
Seriously, what am I waiting for? What are you waiting for? Let’s go snowboarding for FREE!

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Category Archives: Friends