The post about a short workout, paying it forward and a day of shopping with my boy...

• Meanwhile, yesterday on Instagram...
• Twenty minutes of HIIT is better than nothing. The fitness room got very busy after I got there. Three men showed up. I wasn't brave enough to do weighted squats, lunges and core in front of them. So I did 60 squats before getting into the shower and 60 after getting out of the shower in the bathroom. It is supposed to be leg day after all. This is the first Tuesday since the beginning of June I haven't done legs with Tony. Jeez. I hope he remembered not to meet me this morning. Time to head downstairs. I'm fecken starved and they have an obscene amount of eggs available...

• It's #coffeetime and boy oh boy this breakfast room is busy. Hence the under the table pic of coffee. Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. Tons of people staying here for the final week of summer (for me anyway). And to the entire Amtrack crew, welcome! Men in uniform. Nuff said:-)
• So I feel a million times better right now about the La Ronde screw up from yesterday. I just gifted my hotel room maid with my non-refundable tickets. She was thrilled and hugged me so tightly. She said that she will get her oldest to bring the younger children next weekend because she doesn't have weekends off. She's a single mother and works 2 jobs to support her family and can't afford things like this. This is an awesome start to September. And I felt surprisingly emotional after speaking to her. We had this entire conversation via the help of the front desk because she spoke no English. Today will be an exploring and sightseeing day. As much as I can do with a 7 year old anyway...

• Cheers from Montreal. One thing for certain, Julien is spoiled with what he thinks is "fancy" everything. He's so stoked that he gets water and milk in "wine" glasses. There are not a lot of chain type family restaurants here. Eating out has cost a fortune. Not one establishment we've eaten at has had a "children's" menu. And I've looked for child friendly places that are fairly reasonably priced. What I've paid for in food for the past few days would have been over a month's worth of groceries. And Julien keeps saying he likes Ontario better...

• Today's final countdown, the eve before Operation Head Home edition. Looking forward to sleeping in my own house tomorrow. Boys are messy and I need my own space. Today I took the boy shopping along Rue Ste Catherine. We went to Centre Eaton and were on the lookout for some new runners and possibly a back pack. No dice. My almost 8 year old child was trying on size 6 shoes. That's in the men's department. He's growing like a weed. Can't even buy him a child's ticket for amusement parks. He's too tall. 
• Anyway, we spent some time at an arcade and at a fountain that sprayed to a symphony. I was able to drag him into a church for a quick look around. You can't visit Montreal without seeing a church. We went to Dundees for dinner and #winetime and looked around at some interesting sculptures around the Museum of Fine Art. Wanna know what I learned from this trip? Seven-year-olds don't appreciate history or art, yo...