Category Archives: family

Christmas in Montreal

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img_4386Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season so far! We celebrated our Christmas in Montreal with my family. We arrived on Thursday, Christmas Eve and spent the next day four days relaxing and enjoying the gorgeous city.

We spent a lot of time walking around, enjoying the holiday sights, a Christmas Day movie (Daddy’s Home is hilarious no matter what the NY Times review says) and Chinese food in Chinatown, celebrating Boxing Day, hiking Mount Royal, a couple of short runs, and touring the Underground City, and Old Montreal. Montreal is very easy to get to especially from New York either by car or plane (less than an hour flight) that I have a feeling we will be back very soon.

What better way to recap the trip than through pictures? Though these are just the iPhone ones.

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We ate some really good food while away, including dinner in Chinatown on Christmas day, dim sum, Italian and French cuisines, and this ginormous salad from Mandy’s.

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Running is one of the best ways to see a city and on my first run in Montreal, I ran from downtown Montreal to Chinatown and Old Montreal and back.

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The next day was Boxing Day so the streets were a lot more crowded, but I was able to capture some of craziness with the lines of people waiting for H&M to open.

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We even got to sit on some interactive, illuminated seesaws called Impulse. Impulse is a public art display located right outside of the Museum of Contemporary Art.

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We took a tour of the Underground City which I highly recommend especially if the day you’re supposed to go is snowing and cold out. And we hiked to the top of Mount Royal to see some amazing views of the city.

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While a short trip, we had a great time in Montreal and are looking forward to returning, maybe when the weather is warmer (there’s going to be over 2 feet of snow there today!).

Now it’s time to get ready for New Year!

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving (one day late)!

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This Thanksgiving, and not just on Thanksgiving (or the day after) I am grateful for opportunities and support.

This year I’ve been fortunate to have any many opportunities on both the personal and professional fronts.

IMG_4290With my some changes at Stevens, it presented me with an opportunity to reflect on what I wanted to do professionally and the best career path. I’m fortunate for that opportunity because that is how I ended up where I am now, three days into my new job, which has been great so far.

This new job is what led Josh and I to sell our apartment in Hoboken and move to Connecticut. While, I am still bittersweet about the move, I know this opportunity was one that I would regret if I didn’t act on it. I miss Hoboken, our old apartment, and the easy access to NYC very much especially since we’re still living in a sea of boxes but I am grateful to be in this position. Of course, none of this would be possible without the support of Josh and our families.

IMG_4296And on a personal/running note, this was definitely not the year for PRs but a lot of great milestones and experiences. I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to run my first international race, the Virgin Money London Marathon in April with the AgeUK team. Later this fall, I ran my 10th half marathon in New York and my 8th marathon and 3rd NYC Marathon amidst a stressful time in our lives wrapping up my old job and preparing for the move. Training for and running any race requires the support of many people – those who you live with; those who have to hear you talk about it nonstop – be it coworkers, friends, family, the lunch guy or any one who will listen; and your teammates and coaches. While the race is an individual effort, the accomplishment is a team effort. I’m fortunate for all the support I continuously receive for all the crazy running adventures I go on.

2015 has been a great year and it’s not over yet (no Christmas music until after Thanksgiving!). I will do my annual year-in-review recap in 2016 but in the meantime I’m so grateful for the opportunities and support.

Happy Day After Thanksgiving everyone! I wish you wonderful food and a great time with family and friends and some Black Friday shopping.