But I Love This!!

Look at all these trees!!

And rivers! And lakes!

Basically a cyclists dream!             

I Miss These

So very much.

Why Am I Here?

Sometimes I forget why I live in Massachusetts. It's definitely not because of the weather. This was in February right before Valentine's Day. Look at my poor little Mini Coop! She's covered from nose to tail!

 On the bright side everyone was outside playing in the snow the next morning. There was a travel ban in place for the whole state and all businesses were closed. So everyone was just home with their families, probably making waffles. I know we sure did! A few of us all stayed over at a house and had a ton of fun together. We did puzzles, made so much food, celebrated a birthday, and watched a lot of movies. Sadly it was not snowman building type snow. :(

The aftermath was pretty funny too! Luckily I have a driveway that is plowed, because street parking was out of the question. The snow was piled so high it felt like you were walking through tunnels.

Oh California, how I miss you!

Boston Calling

This is a sad story: A few months ago I bought a ticket to a concert. It was in downtown Boston and it was pretty cheap. I bought one for Eric too. Then on the day of the concert, there was a blizzard. And it was canceled. And I was very sad.

So when I was refunded I decided to use my money on another musical venture. This time I only needed to buy one ticket, so I could buy something TWICE as expensive. When I saw that The Shins AND Fun. were playing, I was super excited and Jerr and I bought tickets to go. I took the afternoon off work and was really excited - what better way to spend Memorial Day weekend?

 Fast forward 3 months and it's finally here! Leading up to the concert the weather was gorgeous and 75 degrees. On the day of? 44 degrees and raining. The absolute coldest Memorial Day of my life. Everything went wrong. My work went over in the morning. I was moving out of my old apartment and had to move my bed out before the next morning on no notice and it's hard to move a bed when you drive a Mini Cooper. I didn't think it would be that cold and only wore one sweater. People thought I was weird for bringing an umbrella to a concert.

They didn't give out the line-up in advance so I showed up at 2pm for the festival only to see my bands were playing from 6:30 - 10:30. Did I mention it was 44 degrees outside? And raining? I had to wear a rain poncho. It was not stylish. We persevered until 7:15, but then the element became too much to bear the the temperature was dropping as the sun disappeared. And then Jerr abandoned me for karaoke. When I finally gave up and went home I was soaking wet, cold, tired and I didn't even get to see Fun.!!

It was a sad tale of woe that eventually led to me deciding that all concerts from here on out need to be indoors. But at least I got some Chipotle coupons!

Quebeçois

 Over Christmas, I finally did it. I left the country, and I went to Canada! I have always wanted to go. But my passport has never had the privilege of the stamp. So about a week before Christmas, a few friends and I headed to the great north on a trip to Quebec. It was going to be great! Of the four of us, three spoke French (but don't worry we had the fourth member do most of the driving - resulting in getting completely lost because we also don't have gps or cell phone service in Canada, eh). And all of us love eating! Unfortunately, our budget was a little tight - so we had to settle for staying at the Le Château Frontenac. Okay, it was pretty swanky. And our 'tour guide' works for Fairmont - so all the foods were half price! Woo hoo!

Le Château - our hotel

Poutine

Speaking of food, we ate a lot of Poutine. In case you are unfamiliar with the Eastern Canadian delicacy, let me enlighten you. French fries smothered in gravy and topped with cheese curds.

 

There were plenty of macarons, but not quite enough to share... ;)

Slumber parties abounded, as did moving beds around, practicing perfect bed dives, and wearing monogrammed bath robes.

It was the coldest I have ever been in my life (quite literally) despite wearing as many layers as humanly possible.
By the time we got back, Boston felt downright balmy - which is saying something.

Overall it was a wonderful trip with wonderful friends and I hope to go back again someday!