Backlog Blog

There was so much in the month of January that I really wanted to share here on my blog.  But the more we did, the more I put off blogging, because I could not decide where to begin.  The more I put it off, the more irrelevant my entries seemed.  To catch up in the most efficient way possible, here is an overview of January in one backlog of blog entries.  Hopefully from here on out I will share in a more timely manner. :)


A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP
When I moved to Montreal, we were sleeping on Adam's old mattress.  A full size mattress.  Do you know how hard it is for two people and a cat to share a full size bed?  This ten year old mattress (purchased for $80!) had many pokey springs that were prodding us awake every night.  We toughed it out for a couple of months, but that mattress had long out lived its life expectancy, and it was clearly time for an upgrade.


In October, we had decided that we would splurge and purchase a comfy new mattress for Christmas.  After checking out several options with the help of a very good salesman, Christmas came early and we purchased a new mattress.  There is plenty of room for all of us (Adam, Charlie, and myself) to spread out on our new queen bed, but we may have gone from one extreme to another.  The new mattress has a six inch pillow top!  My feet don't even come close to touching the ground when I sit on the edge of our bed, but I guarantee there will be no pokey springs ever getting through that mattress.

Charlie approves of the new
grey bedding... he now blends
in with his surroundings.

It turned out, selecting a mattress we both like proved to be the easy part.  Finding bedding we both could agree on that also fit our new ridiculously deep mattress was a bit more problematic.  It took nearly three months of frustrating shopping excursions for us to agree on new sheets, a duvet, and bed skirt.  I think we were both relieved to finally be done as we cashed in on some Boxing Day sales and used a gift card from our wedding.  The bed looks awesome, it is amazingly comfortable, and Charlie enjoys spending his days lounging on our very expensive bedding.




HOLIDAY ROAD
After settling the bedding debate, we really needed a vacation.  Not only did we leave Montreal, but we ditched the entire province of Quebec to meet up with Adam's side of the family in Ontario.  This was very exciting for several reasons.  First, I had never been to any other part of Canada, other than Montreal.  Second, I really truly love the city of Montreal, but my French needs a lot of work.  Being able to spend some time in a place where everyone primarily speaks English, with all the signs/menus/directions in English, can only be described as a true vacation for my stressed out / French confused brain.  And finally, Adam's family is awesome so getting to spend time with my in-laws is always something to look forward to.

We took a train from Montreal to Toronto, and enjoyed the very scenic view of the country side and Lake Ontario along the way.  In all it was a very easy, stress-free way to travel and we really didn't mind the six hour ride.  Once we arrived in Toronto, we were lucky enough to be staying at the 4-star accommodations of Uncle John's house where we were joined by Adam's parents, his brother Andy, and sister-in-law Heather.

Andrew and Adam bonding
with their cousin Nicholas.

We spent some time exploring
a park while we were in Sarnia.
Of course, coming across a
cannon like this warrants a
group photo!

The Alim family in front of their
first home.  The neighbors
considered our photo-op to be
suspicious, and we had Sarnia's
finest watching over the rest
of our visit in the neighborhood. 

Our first day of sight-seeing included a visit to the majestic Niagara Falls (I could see the United States across the water!) and a visit with Adam's grandmother.  The next day we toured downtown Toronto, and Adam purchased a Maple Leafs hoodie to taunt all his Quebecois workmates.  Our last day we took a road trip down to Sarnia, the historic birthplace of Andrew and Adam Alim, and another opportunity for the United States to taunt me from across a body of water, this time the St. Clair River.  It was a very busy, but very fun trip being tourists and spending time with family.  We packed so much sightseeing into the three days we had to explore, it definitely made us excited to plan another trip back for more.

On a trolley tour of downtown
Toronto.  It was pretty chilly
so this was the best way for
us to see the city.  We cannot
wait to go back in warmer
weather to explore more!

A picture of me in on the
Canadian border in Sarnia,
while the United States
taunts me from across the St.
Clair River.  So close, yet so
far away!

My favorite sign
at Niagara Falls.

SNOW BUNNIES
My parents drove up from Illinois bearing ski equipment and gifts from the homeland (Claussen Pickles and Cheezits!).  We jumped in the car with them and drove a few more hours to Mont Tremblant, where the skiing was fantastic.  Adam had not skied in at least fifteen years, so we took it easy the first run down.  He had no problem getting back into it and was even taking on some black diamond runs by the end of the day.

Here we are, snow-suited-up,
riding up the mountain on
a frost covered gondola.
For most of the trip, Adam
pretended he was in a
James Bond movie.

My parents, riding up on the
gondola.  I could be mistaken,
but I don't believe they
pretended to be in a James
Bond movie during any part of
our trip. ;)

Thick fog took over the
mountain top towards the end
of our first day, keeping it interesting.

The Mont Tremblant Resort itself is a picturesque village with a lot of shops, restaurants, and even a brewery with some very delicious beer.  We had a lot of fun exploring it all, and we even had a chance to go ice skating so I could break in my new skates that Adam gave me for Christmas.  My skating is pretty shaky right now, but with some practice I think might almost pass for a Canadian, eh?

Adam showing off his skills on
the ice.  My moves were less
graceful... but I know I would
have been better had a Zamboni
been there to clean up the ice.

Exploring the night light in
Mont Tremblant, Adam and I
opted for a pint at the local
brewery... hence the happy
smiles. 

CAR RIDES

For city dwellers without a car, we spent much of January getting around in automobiles.  There was a lot of traveling all over Ontario with Adam's family, the drive up to Mont Tremblant with my parents, and the even longer ride back to Montreal in a snowstorm.  But it is safe to say that the best car trip was the drive back from picking up Rook.


While we were out of town, Rook went on a little vacation of his own and stayed with his bulldog family and Isabelle, the breeder.  He spent his time running around in a huge backyard and playing with the other bullies, so we know he had a great time.  He is such a happy pup, Isabelle even received a few offers from families wanting to take him home rather than waiting for new puppies to be born.  Luckily she saved the little rascal for us, and our happy, wiggly puppy was very excited to see us.


This was the first time Rook was meeting my parents, but he wasted no time being shy.  He jumped right up in front with his grandparents and gave them lots of licks.  He spent the first half of the ride jumping from lap to lap making sure everyone got some direct attention, but finally settled on the console between the front seats so he could love on everybody at once.

Rook took advantage of every
stoplight to get some scratches
from the driver... there may have
been a few occasions when he
just couldn't wait for a red light.

My mom received a lot of
Rook's love and attention
on the car ride back to our
apartment.  Rook LOVES his
grandparents!

Showing his love for the
people in the back.

WINTER ON THE MOUNTAIN
My parents spent a day in Montreal before heading back to the states.  When they weren't driving us around to pick up our puppy, I made sure they explored the mountain with me (of course!).  I had not been to the mountain since this past Fall, when my brother was in town, so I was excited to experience the winterized version.  Hiking up the mountain is a lot tougher in the winter with all that snow slowing you down.  But the views are still worth it.

A view through the ice and
snow covered trees as we
trekked up the stairs to the
top of the mountain.  It was
beautiful walking in this
winter wonderland.

A frosty view of downtown
Montreal as the snow continues
to cover the city.  It was the
first major snow fall of the
season.  About 25cm of snow
fell in three days.

My dad got a few pictures
with his "old-timey" camera.

I'm hoping to talk Adam into joining me for some more winter adventures on the mountain... snowshoeing, tubing, ice skating, and cross country skiing.  I ♥ Mont Royal!




IGLOOFEST

There is always a party going on in Montreal.  Montrealers don't let things like snow or below freezing temperatures get in the way of having a good time.  Hence, Igloofest, an outdoor music festival held in Vieux-Port, drawing crowds of tens of thousands every weekend in January.  Adam's co-worker (and fellow Chicagoan!) was DJing a set, so we were happy to support.  We had an amazing time toasting marshmallows and dancing to the beats while staying warm in our snowsuits.

Adam takes his
marshmallows charred,
not toasted.

Snow suits keep you warm
in these arctic temperatures.
A shot of Jagermeister can
help too!

My favorite part of Igloofest
was all of the dancing!  Adam's
friend Eli played an awesome set
of electronic swing.  A close second
would be toasting marshmallows
around the fire pits.  You stay
nice and warm around the fire
and you get a tasty snack.

One thing Igloofest helped us realize... we are OLD.  
After a couple of hours of taking in the festivities we were ready to head home and snuggle in on the sofa to watch some James Bond (one of the many series we are working our way through at the moment).  On our walk back to the metro we passed by all the young, hip kids who were just starting their night at Igloofest.  C'est la vie!  We may have been there for the early bird special, but we enjoyed every minute of it!