Happy New Year! Bonne Annee!

Here we are at the beginning of a brand new year.  I hope that you all had a good New Year's celebration.  As for the three of us, we had a nice New Year's Eve and Day, although we didn't make it until midnight...at 11:20 pm we decided that we just couldn't stay up any longer.

The days leading up to New Year's were quiet.  It was as if we were on vacation.  We didn't do much and we didn't go to the gym.  As for the weather, well it got mighty cold.  On Thursday, we woke up to -31 C with a windchill of -42 C.  Needless to say that we didn't go for any walks while we had this cold snap.  Cooper went outside only to do his business and he was fast.  No fooling around.  He didn't want to be outside any more than we did. Walking on three legs is no fun for a dog.  Russell even picked him up a couple of times.  The beauty of having a small dog....

On New Year's Day, we watched the Winter Classic hockey game.  We are not big hockey fans but it was fun watching the game.  And it was an exciting one at that!  Then Russell watched the usual Bowl Games.  We had a fire going all day and it was nice. I cooked a turkey and it was enjoyed by all, including Cooper.

Our house is now back to normal after taking down the Christmas decorations.  It is always nice to put them up, but it is nice to put them away for another year.  As the saying goes, all good things come to an end.  This also means that, starting tomorrow, we will do our very best to try and eat better than we did during the holidays.  No more Christmas cookies and no more special foods that people typically eat around Christmas time.  This morning, I went grocery shopping and bought all of Russell's favorite foods (NOT!):  quinoa, spinach, beets, chickpeas, and the list goes on....We will also resume our fitness program this week.

Yesterday, we went to Arrowhead Provincial Park for a nice walk in the forest.  The park was packed with families enjoying winter activities such as skating, cross country skiing and snowshoeing.  We have a seasonal pass and plan on going as often as we can.  It is a nice way to spend a Winter afternoon.

That's about it for this first blog of 2014.  I assume that tomorrow is back to school for most students and back to work for many parents.  The weather forecast for the next few days is somewhat uncertain in many parts of Ontario and Quebec, so who knows....maybe some will have an extra day off.  I wish you all a great week ahead.

Anne and Cooper ready to walk the trail in Arrowhead.

Look at me....leash free...for a moment!

Stubb's Falls in Arrowhead Provincial Park.