Tuesday, June 11, 2013

That Time Katie Graduated

Two weeks ago, Katie came back to Montreal for her graduation ceremony. Having been by her side over the course of her three years at McGill (which might I add were far too short), there was no place Emily, Paula or I would be but by her side for this special day. A couple other people who I know are just as proud of Katie as we are were there too, were Jer and his sweet parents.

Since McGill doesn't have a proper convocation hall, they set up a beautiful white tent accommodating close to 3,000 people at a time. Given the sheer mass of students at McGill (38,000+), you can imagine what an ordeal graduation must be. For five consecutive days, McGill had two ceremonies– both morning and afternoon separated by faculty and then even further by discipline for some of the larger specialties. Katie, alongside 800 of her peers marched in to the sound of bagpipes while being featured throughout on the projector screens in the tent. I can't tell you the number of times we thought we saw Katie coming in and started to cheer... it's just so hard to tell people apart when they're in black robes with black hats and flowy long hair. Once we finally caught a glimpse of the real Katie, the camera shifted focus to the bagpipe player....great. 

After that we were determined to film her walking across the stage to get her diploma and figured since we had a list of who was being called there was no way we could possibly miss it. Between Paula, Emily, Jer, Mr. and Mrs. Enns and myself, we had it all planned – photos, videos, cheering – you name it, we were ready....Until they skipped five names ahead of Katie's for people who didn't show and the next thing we new she was marching across the stage in her five inch heels (that just so happened to match the accent colours on the gown PERFECTLY) getting 'capped' on the head by someone important as they announced Katherine Ernst, First Class Honours, Dean's Honour List. We may not have been ready with our cameras but did we ever cheer!!! Katie gave us a huge grin from the stage and someone even turned around to ask if we were for hire! 

Here is a video and a few pictures of the day. Katie, we are all SO proud of you. Congratulations on a degree well done. You are going to make one fantastic lawyer! If you thought we cheered loud this time around...











Sunday, May 26, 2013

B-A-N-A-N-A-S

As you can see, we have accumulated a few bananas in the past couple of weeks. As such, Emily and I figured it was high time to do some baking...


We made cranberry-banana-white chocolate muffins and banana chocolate chip bread topped with walnuts :) 

Monday, May 20, 2013

Last Weekend in a Video

Jared was here visiting this past weekend and he played a lot of guitar. We love listening to him so here's a snippet for you :) 


A Series of Unfortunate Events

We like to document our conversations with Mary and Mansoor because they are always rather confusing and hilarious and this was no exception. 

First Masoud contacted us: 

Not having any idea who Masoud is or why he needs to come take pictures of our apartment I forwarded the message to Kinsey who said she would call him. In the meantime she called Mansoor, "Hello Mansoor", "Hello Candy" he replied. As Kinsey explained this text message we'd received and reminded him that we'd already sent him beautiful pictures of the apartment that Katie had taken, Mansoor attempted to comfort her saying, "oh yes Masoud, very nice man, very nice man" but couldn't tell her why Masoud needed pictures and told her to call Mary.

We didn't call Mary but she texted us!


 We continued to worry. Kinsey would be home at 6 but our rooms were not clean and we weren't exactly prepared to clean the apartment in they way that we would normally for a photoshoot!

We called Mansoor again to try to find away to stop this stranger from coming to our apartment to take pictures of our bedrooms... Mansoor seemed completely oblivious to the situation and told us to call Mary again. We texted her:




And look at that: she told us to call Mansoor! (What?!?) And who in the world is Mohammad?! Clearly neither of them have a clue. I'm guessing this guy is not coming. 

Turns out Kinsey didn't actually respond to the text message from Masoud (and neither did I or Mary or Mansoor). I got a phone call from him this morning asking if I'd received the message and we finally sorted things out! He doesn't even need pictures! He has a client who is interested in buying the apartment building and just wants to see the layout. 


So this what is what we get for being "dream tenants". Our apartment seems to be constantly being shown! 

Masoud said he would check with his client about what time would work with him and he would get back to us. We have yet to hear back from him. So this is all to be continued...JOY!

The Settlers Themselves

Last night we settled Catan. Well, Emily and Jared did when they won the first and second rounds. It was a fun night with lots of healthy competition. After two rounds of Catan, some treats and some wine we settled onto the click-clack for some serious discussion about babies- quads, quintuplets and what we would do if we ever found ourselves in the shoes of John and Kate plus 8. Then we obsessed over grad school programs, medical mal-practice suits, and moral dilemmas until almost 1:00. All I can say is that after painfully losing twice I'm more than ready for a re-match. 


Thursday, May 16, 2013

Royal Treatment

Last weekend my Grandma and Grandpa came to visit Emily and me in Montreal. Now there's one thing I must mention before I continue this post: My Grandma and Grandpa are AVID readers of this blog. Would you believe me if I told you that they have printed every single post that we have ever written since our very first post  in January 2012? Not only do they print them, they keep them, in what has become a giant pile on their kitchen table. If that doesn't make one feel loved, I don't know what does. So with that, a shout-out to my Grammy & Grampy and a HUGE thank you for the great weekend they treated us to!

To recap:
Saturday night, dinner at Reubens - look at all those fries!

...Followed by some relaxation and pool time at the Fairmont 

Complete with a Special Mother's Day Brunch and mimosas! 

And finally some sun to see them off!  

Monday, May 13, 2013

Hockey Night (week) In Canada (1900 Tupper)

You may not know this about us Tupper ladies but we are actually die-heartt hockey fans. Well, maybe die-heart is a little strong, but I was raised a Habs fan and Kinsey, from Toronto (or close enough) loves the Leafs (and with encouragement from Brad, has become really quite impressively knowledgeable about the team as well as the game itself). So, since both teams were playing this round, we had our computers streaming the games almost every night this week! Even though Montreal was beat out earlier on (sad, I know-especially living in Montreal) I still enjoyed the Toronto-Boston series. Kinsey and I would shout to each other from our respective rooms as we watched the plays unfold..."Kessel with the puck again, heading towards the Boston net...GOAL!!!" It was really rather exciting. Tonight was especially thrilling. Kinsey texted me updates during the first two periods while I was out and upon my return we cuddled up on the couch together, eyes glued to the computer screen. 4-2, 4-3, 4-4, over time!!! Exhilarating. AND, Miss Katherine Ernst called just in time for the final minutes of the third period so all the Tupper ladies could experience the excitement (and disappointment) together. Truly a bonding experience. Thankfully, Katie had lots of news and stories of her time at home and at camp to take our mind off the loss. Maybe next year Habs and Leafs fans!


Looks like Boston just scored from Kinsey's expression! 


15 minutes left in the 3rd period and Toronto was up 3-1.


Ending the evening talking to our girl, Katie :) 


Thursday, May 2, 2013

The Ultimate Salad

A couple of weeks ago, when I was home in between exams, I went to visit some friends in Waterloo – Katie and Taylor being two of them. (Hi girls!) We spent Saturday afternoon at the St. Jacob's market in Amish country. There were loads of vendors selling all kinds of goodies at the best prices. We got pots of tulips for $1 and 8 boxes of strawberries for $5! After we dipped half of the berries in chocolate we used some of the others for our dinner. Katie and Taylor have an amazing salad recipe with a delicious dressing. I enjoyed it so much that I set out to make it tonight, adding a few additional ingredients :)

{Ingredients} 
Baby spinach/mixed greens
Fruit of your choice - I used kiwis and mangos (Last time we used strawberries and apples, they were great too) 
Feta cheese 
Avocado
Quinoa (For protein)  
Roasted pine nuts (Watch them very carefully as they are easy to burn and quite pricey!)
Grilled chicken (I marinated mine in lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper this morning so they were nice and juicy when it came time to cook them) 

{Dressing} Enough for approximately 3 servings 
1/4 cup real maple syrup, 1/3 cup light mayo, 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar  




Wednesday, May 1, 2013

And So It Begins 2.0

You may recall last year at this time, Katie posting about beginning her LSAT prep. This time it's my turn and today marked the beginning of an intensive, five week prep course. Here we go...

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Reflection

Today has been a day of reflection. The past two weeks have been quite an emotional roller coaster on Tupper as Kinsey went home for a week between exams and Katie and Jeremy packed up Katie's things and said farewell to Tupper for good leaving me here alone to fend for myself ;) Then Kinsey came and went again, leaving me here for another week. But today, with the sun shining, after breakfast out with a good friend and a skype date with another good friend, I said "Enough moping Emily Anne-Marie! Today is the day that the Lord has made. Let us be glad and rejoice in it!" So, I put on some work out clothes, got out my ipod, turned on some worship tunes and went for a run for the first time in well...too long. I can not express how refreshing that time was. It was a time dedicated to reflection, rather than the kind of "reflection" (ahem, daydreaming) that happens when I'm trying to study and it was definitely what I needed. Here's what I came up with:  

In a nutshell, I am blessed. 

Not in a nutshell, I have:

- legs that can run up the Atwater hill
- lungs that breathe fresh air
- two roommates who I have countless wonderful memories with (and still a month and half of more memories with Kinsey) 
- three new roommates next year to create new memories with and a new part of the city to explore
- a beautiful city to live in (it's easy to forget this in the winter months!) 
- an amazing church family in Montreal and back home 
- a stocked fridge
- clean water to drink, to shower in, to wash dishes in... 
- a university education 
- a summer job 
- friends and family to go home to, to call on walks home from school, to spend hours with on Skype when I don't feel like studying anymore 
- a God who provides and loves unconditionally 

...need I say more? 

So, one more exam to go for me then it's Kinsey's turn to be alone on Tupper for a few days while I'm back home. Then I come back to Montreal to start working at the Motor Control Lab where I've been working all year doing my thesis and Kinsey starts her LSAT prep course and that's as far ahead as I can afford to think at the moment! 

There will be lots more to blog about when Kinsey and I are finally reunited so keep checking the blog!  Lots of Tupper news to be unveiled in the near future but for now, it's back to the books for me! 

Hope you all are finding time to reflect and that it's been as rewarding for you as it was for me. 

Love, 
Emily 








Thursday, April 18, 2013

Ben & Jerry

Not too long ago our friends Ben & Jerry were giving away free ice cream! Of course, us Tupper gals caught wind of this wonderful news and met up at the nearest store to campus. It was a wee bit chilly that day but that's no excuse to turn down a free yummy treat! We all enjoyed our cones, including our dear friend Paula who joined us and snapped this beauty shot: 



Thanks Ben & Jerry! 

Monday, April 15, 2013

Last Day

Tomorrow marks our last day of school. After exams Emily and I will be finished our third year and Katie will be graduating. This semester Katie and I took crime together (with our dear friend Catherine, hi girl!) and after our last class we felt it only fitting to take a picture on campus. Why we look so happy I'm not sure...Tears have already and will continue to be shed as our time in Montreal together is all too quickly coming to a close.


Spring Oasis

Last week I spent a day studying at the Westmount Library. Attached to the library is a beautiful greenhouse where the sun streams in and is soaked up by beautiful flowers. Also inside the greenhouse are fountains, ponds and places throughout for people to sit and enjoy. There were women with babies, couples, and students studying. I was lucky enough to be one of those students and it was lovely.





Saturday, April 13, 2013

Strange Combination

It was after dinner on a cold Montreal night. We (Kinsey and I) needed to eat our broccoli (otherwise it was going to rot, alone and forgotten in our fridge), but we had already committed to our magical maple drink.

Heaven in a mug

Heaven in a mug + broccoli
No matter. We just enjoyed both. :)

Thumbs up.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

The Story of an Empty Frame

In September when Kinsey brought a lovely photo frame for Tupper I volunteered to get pictures printed to fill it.

October passed.

November passed.

December passed.

...I had gotten used to seeing the stock images. Why fix something that ain't broke?!...

January passed.

...Then I began to sense the embarrassment mounting...

"What lovely four-identical-paintings-of-sailboats you have in your bathroom," our guests would comment.

February passed.

Then March happened.

With my moving out looming ever near, I was determined to get some nice pictures in our frame.

Indecisively, I printed out a bunch. Then played with arrangements on our couch.


Finally we settled with this - ta da!


Now we are no longer embarrassed.

The end.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

New Kid in Town


Last August my mom gifted me with an old coffee grinder, informing me it was on its last legs and so "I could just have it." Well. Every time I ground my morning beans I was certain it would be my last grind. The machine would sputter and fritz and occasionally refuse to work altogether. With a gentle shake and a massage of the button, however, I could always magically reinvigorate it. I faithfully enjoyed this sputter-shake-massage routine until one fateful morning last week when my coffee grinder let me know it had had enough. No matter what I tried I could not get it to restart. And I tried for nothing short of fifteen minutes. I had a midterm that afternoon and was des.per.ate. to get some caffeine in my veins after a late-night cram session. So I marched over to Canadian Tire and assessed my options. I settled on this spiffy Black and Decker model. 


Get phenomenal flavor and aroma from your coffee with a precision burr mill grinding system. With burr mill grinding, you get more uniform results while preserving the delicate natural oils of the beans – for a better cup of coffee. A grind selection dial lets you automatically adjust the texture of the grind – from a very fine grind for espresso to a coarse grind for Turkish coffee and percolator brewing.

My new Burr Mill Grinding System features...
  • Grind Selection Dial
  • Slip-Resistant Rubber Feet
  • Removable Grinding Container
  • Push-Button Control
  • Removable Grinding Assembly
  • Cord Storage
  • Cleaning Brush
  • 2-Year Limited Warranty
  • Lid Locking Security Feature

Sunday, April 7, 2013

International Pillow Fight Day

Today's post comes to you courtesy Lynn Moore at the Montreal Gazette. The girls of 1900 Tupper did not participate, though it seems it would have been an event in which we could have excelled. And with de-stressing benefits! Who knew.

---



MONTREAL — A prolonged frenzy of fighting erupted in Montreal’s Phillips Square on Saturday afternoon.

Strangers struck strangers repeatedly with wild abandon, often laughing manically as they did so.

No police presence. No arrests. No property damage.

It was a feathery fracas, a pillow fight and part of International Pillow Fight Day, which had feathers flying in cities and towns around the world.

“It’s fun,” John Fotheringham, a fight veteran with four of the annual events under his belt, said Saturday.

“It’s held outside on a spring day. It’s positive. And it has this energy bolstering feeling that is really good.”

About 125 people, many dressed in pyjamas, participated in the pillow fight, while about 250 people with cameras and smartphones recorded the event.

“It’s a really good form of de-stressing,” said Solene Troussé, a French national who recently arrived for a one-year stay in Montreal.

I’m fighting, but it is with the spirit of love,” she said.

The fight, which periodically generated plumes of feathers as pillows burst their seams, started at 3 p.m. It was still going strong an hour later.

The Montreal band Motel Raphael used the occasion to shoot a music video with a production team from Moving Mind Studio.

Singer Emily Skahan helped kick off the Montreal version of International Pillow Fight Day, an event largely organized ad hoc using social media.

This year’s fight included a DJ and participation by Kigurumi.ca, the folks who produce one-piece jammies that look like animal costumes.

Fight rules can be found on a website that advises would-be organizers not to seek permits from authorities.

The rules include:
  1. Soft pillows only.
  2. Swing lightly, many people will be swinging at once.
  3. Do not swing at people without pillows or with cameras.
  4. Remove glasses beforehand.
  5. Wait until the signal to begin.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Katie turns 21!

A very Happy Birthday to our best friend and roommate! 
We're so excited for the blessings this year will bring to you!
...And we're also considering keeping the apartment permanently decorated :) 

The Birthday Girl herself

The Cold Stone Creamery 'Cookie Doughn't You Want Some' Cake 

 Decorations and flowers from Mr. & Mrs. Ernst

Roomie # 1

Roomie #2 

:)

Friday, March 22, 2013

Breaking and Entering...

The mailbox.

That's right everyone. I, Kinsey Brockie, tried to break into our mailbox this afternoon. I am expecting a cell phone in the mail because my current one is out of commission. It was supposed to arrive Thursday but given the reliability of the Montreal mail system of course it was late. Of all days, the mail key decided to fall out of my pocket on my way to school and with all the snow and slush it is never to be seen again.

After contacting Mary, Mansoor's trusty  assistant, she said that Mansoor would drop a key off this afternoon. We weren't home and apparently he didn't get the 'leave it under the doormat' option. Great.

Thus I had no choice but to try and break in. I tried a paper clip, a hanger, a plastic knife, the mail key of the girls next door...No dice. I even watched how-to videos on youtube. The worst part is, is that when I peak in through the cracks at the top I can SEE the envelope. So close...yet so far.

Thankfully Mansoor is coming to the rescue first thing in the morning. Let's just hope he doesn't think to check the supposed 24 hour security cameras...Or I may never post on this blog again.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Recapping our Reading Week at ORANGE LAKE!

Hope you are enjoying some current material these days! Thanks to Kinsey for keeping our followers happy while I've worked on this monstrous recap...

We were in sunny Orlando, Florida for reading week. Make no mistake: our reading week was still very much filled with reading. It just happened to be punctuated with poolside relaxation, Disney outings, dips in the jacuzzi, and tasty meals.

Here's a play-by-play. (I've left the pictures small but you can click on the first to enlarge it and scroll through them as a slideshow).

Thursday: Late afternoon, we took a chartered bus to Toronto, where Mr. and Mrs. Brockie picked all five (Kinsey, Emily, Katelyn, Paula, and me) up from the bus station. We were famished, so we scarfed down a pizza, and got to bed as early as we could.

Our load
Us and our load
On our way to Missasauga

Friday: Early morning teas waiting for us by Mr. Brockie. Kinsey's grandma picked us up at 7:30 am and chauffeured us across the border to Buffalo. We met Michelle, who was eager to show-and-tell her Monique Lah-Hue-Lee-Err gown for the wedding she was on her way to attend at the prestigious St. Regis hotel in Manhatten. Then she tried to sell a neurology textbook to Emily. We made a speedy transfer at JFK and soon were in sunny Orlando, where Robert(o) drove us to Orange Lake Resort. Paula befriended him and they chatted in español (he was a native of the Dominican Republic, and had lived in Montreal) the entire ride.

Michelle (and a bit of me)
Robert(o)
Our souped up ride
Tired from travel, but so excited

We checked in. We had an in-resort chauffeur named Kevin who took us to our condo. He looked about our age. We peppered him with questions, and learned that he had moved with his girlfriend to Florida where they had purchased a house (!!!!!) and recently put in a swimming pool (!!!!!!!). After depositing our bags at the condo we hopped back in Kevin's Orange Lake minivan and he drove us to the edge of the resort compound. We sprinted across eight lanes of highway traffic (on a red light, sort of...) and across the largest parking lot I had ever seen, where we purchased our week's groceries at the Super Target.

Heavy
All tuckered out

On our way back we stopped into the local Applebee's for a speedy dinner (Kevin was coming at a set time before the end of his shift to take us and our groceries back to home base). All the service staff eyed our grocery bags hungrily.


Saturday: This is our condo! Two bedrooms. Two bathrooms. Full kitchen. Jacuzzi tub. Patio area out back, right on the golf course (literally--old men on golf carts could see into Kinsey's and my bedroom if the curtains were open; we were careful).

Humble abode

We awoke to a cool day but bundled up and explored the resort. (Paula went with a relative to Disney World for the day.)

Sunny but chilly

Through a series of events that would ultimately benefit us, we scored some tokens to the arcade.

Lebron, right here
Deal or No Deal! We got some deals.
Racing (2nd place, in case you were wondering)

All our gaming resulted in a few points to spend in the arcade store. What did we buy?

1) Moustaches
2) Ring pops
...Which turned our tongues green

We visited one of the main pool complexes and took a dip in the hottub as best we could to warm up.


We also lounged in the hammocks.

The less cute side of the hammock

I recall we tried to minigolf also, but were too cold. We made it five holes before calling it a game.

Sunday: We slept in and enjoyed a hearty pancake breakfast.

Paula the Pig........jk

We tried to sit by the pool but it was too cold for bathing suits.... 14 degrees as a high, I think! People looked at us like we were crazy. We didn't last too long. After eating lunch we packed up and headed back to the condo to watch some Food Network... specifically, America's Worst Cooks, the most hilarious show to ever grace cable television.

Keeping warm - the Mummify Technique

Monday: We set out to conquer the Hippo--the world's largest inflatable water slide. We would later learn from experience this contraption is nothing more than a glorified slip-and-slide. They manually hose you, and then the slide, and finally send you flying down. It's still scary though. In the videos you'll hear my legitimately terrified scream.

The hippo, in all its glory



Wide-brimmed hats make pictures tricky! Sorry, Kins!
Our first acceptably warm day!
Safety first!
The 12-acre lazy river

Tuesday: We returned to River Island, having so enjoyed ourselves on Monday.

POOL BABES
Dinner at the Olive Garden

Wednesday: The day for mini-golf. We played 72 holes of golf this day. That's four entire games, people. Did I improve over the course of the day? Well... no.

The best roommates :)
Look at that stance!
Dang nab I'm in the bushes
Chicken-Caesar wraps for dinner

Two rounds of golf in the afternoon, and two after dinner. Kinsey is our very own LPGA star!!!!



Thursday: We checked out Splash Lagoon, home of a little water slide, the coldest pools ever, and the Mushroom.

I thought Paula was going to smoke this little girl
given the sheer velocity with which she came down
the slide, but she narrowly dodged her

Being that it was our last night in Florida, the group decided that we should check out some Disney attractions. First stop: Downtown Disney.

Our very own Jasmine! #wannabeindian

I am proud of the above picture because it was entirely candid.

I also learned of one of the scariest things to ever happen to girls aged 3 to 12: The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. I'm still having nightmares. If you're feeling brave, check out this Google Images search...

DISNEY SWAG
Jedi Katherine

Having seen enough of Downtown Disney, we took a shuttle to the Boardwalk. The hotels there are gor.geous. We wandered along the water, caught a fireworks show, and popped in and out of shops.

#1 Fan

I cannot do Jeff, our cabbie, justice. I know the video below is long (and please don't waste your time watching it all) but it's the best I can do to demonstrate the singalong-dance party that ensued in our vehicle. There was Ke$ha and Rihanna and Taylor Swift and the Thrift Shop song... We lived it up in there. Jeff was so into it. We couldn't understand anything he's saying here (then or now) but we think he is singing along and busting some moves to boot. Oh, and Jeff was wearing an "I LOVE JESUS" ball cap, so that was cool.


Friday: Carrie, Cabbie Jeff's wife, picked us up early Friday morning to take us back to the Orlando airport. We were sad to bid Orange Lake and Kinsey (who was staying a bit longer with her family) adieu. Our Orlando flight was seriously delayed, and we literally ran from gate to gate to barely make our connection at JFK (mercifully that flight was delayed a little too!) Katelyn's mom and Jer would pick the four of us up in Buffalo and we would head our separate ways for the weekend before reconvening in Montreal on Monday. What a week!

And now... It's back to the daily grind. (Not this daily grind.) More midterms. More essays. And so forth. Just under one month until classes conclude (and I graduate?!?!????).