It's been a year?

I can't believe how fast time has gone by!  Our 1 yr anniversary of living in Montreal passed us by, back in August! I haven't kept up with this blog nearly as much as I wanted but time seems to get away from me, especially lately. We moved, had company come to town and went on a fabulous vacation all within three weeks of each other in August/Sept. Talk about cutting a steak with the wrong side of the blade! I do not recommend any of that to happen all at once! It was hectic, bordering on madness but in the end it all worked out.

Spring, Summer and Fall, have all come and gone and now Winter is here. There have been a couple of days when it snowed and actually decided to "stick" around until it warmed back up, melting the evidence. I made sure to take pictures for those doubters, who, when looking at our weather and it says it's 40 degrees, I can show them the proof.

We still enjoy living here, even though it's turned colder lately and we know Winter really hasn't arrived. We're planning on going to Igloofest again this next year. Of course, we're going to freeze our asses off, but it was so much fun last year, we can't resist going again. Here we are at last years Igloofest with our friend Dooma:

We continue to meet some really great people here, forging lasting friendships and even though we don't see one another often, when we all do get together, it's guaranteed to be a fun filled, hilarious event!

After our condo sat empty for a while, we decided the time had come for us to find a renter. I took a trip  to Austin for a month at the beginning of March, and completely cleaned it out, getting it ready. What a pain in my ass that was. I got terribly sick, but still managed to get it all done. I am grateful my Mother and Father-in-law were there to help!  I sold all of our indoor and outdoor furniture we left behind and gave A LOT of stuff to Goodwill(believe me, when I say the words "a lot"). The rest went into a 10x10 storage. The place was rented within a week, which we're thankful for! Location, location, location!

My niece, her husband and their two little ones flew here from Houston, for a visit in April, arriving on my birthday! What a great present that was! The end of March, into early April, is still pretty chilly, however, the weather couldn't have been more perfect for their visit! We were on the go everyday for a week and had the best time!  We even visited a Sugar Shack, which was something fun for the kids and different for us!

http://www.quebecregion.com/en/what-to-do/ideas/sugar-shacks

Hubs and I made another trip back to Austin in June, for a friends wedding. It was already full on summer mode, when we landed in Texas. Being away for a while, you tend to forget exactly how hot it gets! Hubs was happy because he got to drive his car and put the top down. Me on the other hand, not so much. We were, after all, going to a wedding but surprisingly, just a few strands of hair were out of place and with the AC vents blowing on me, I stayed cool!  That was a fun night!

Those were the  shortest four days we had, but we managed to visit many of our friends during that time. We also got to celebrate our other friends' wedding, who were married last December! Good times plus great friends equal awesome, forever memories!

We decided to move to a different part of Montreal. Where we are now, is called The Plateau. I call it Restaurant City and think it should be renamed and a new postal code given. There are many great places to eat in this city, but everyone says the same thing: "You live around the best places to eat in Montreal." Hmm. Good thing we don't eat out much!

We had a hectic few weeks; Our cat had some teeth pulled; we had company for two weeks; we moved and 2 days after that, we went to Europe. Whirlwind isn't the correct word for that! In the end, it all worked out. I will say though, I have a new favorite place: Cannes, France. It's now the place I want to go to on vacation. I fell in love with Cannes and hope to go back next summer!

I have also made it my mission to lose weight and so far, so good!  I'm down 35lbs since June and feel better about myself and have more energy. I haven't yet reached my goal but I'm determined to by May or June of next year!

Now, Christmas is once again, upon us. This time, we're going to celebrate with family and friends in Texas. From the looks of it, when we leave, we'll be wearing all of our heavy winter gear and will have to pack for summer temps in Texas!

Stay tuned for a couple of more blogs after this one!