Ice Cream Castles in the Air

Joni Mitchell should have lived in Montana.  Our mornings are breathtaking.

July is Half Over

July 17th.  This summer feels like it's gone into free-fall mode.  We have Misty's wedding this weekend (remember Misty?  She's getting married.  To an amazing dude.  Super happy to share this weekend with her) and then next weekend we celebrate a fabulous Bestie Birthday with Morgan and Joel at Georgetown Lake.  We're taking the kids tubing and boating and Morgan always prepares a feast for 12 people so I am looking forward to a relaxing weekend with some awesome pals.

August is already half over in my mind as well.  I have a family reunion in Colstrip the first weekend, then the next weekend is the start of MontanaFair and Sublime with Rome.  Yes, I realize it's not the same without Bradley, but I think that is the point, and I think Rome sounds pretty damn good, thank you very much.  Miss Jen J.-M.  will be here, also celebrating a birthday the night before the concert, and we will be enjoying the show with the delightful Laura G.  I could piddle with excitement, I can't believe it's only 3 weekends away!

The weekend before school starts is going to be our last chance to camp.  We ended up not camping last weekend due to an influx of school work and out an outflux of my patience and desire to spend all weekend alone with my family.  I love them.  A lot.  And that is why it's important I not spend time with them when I'm reach my threshold for their shenanigans.  And last week I was at my limit.

Elora starts school on 8/22.  I picked up birth certificates last week, got her enrolled for the YMCA afterschool program AND signed up for swim lessons for her and her bro-bro.  And thanks to a bunch of clothes from another friend I have a lot less school clothes shopping to do for her.  We will probably make a girl-date to shop and get all her stuff together.

I'm even going to be come a cold-lunch mom!  She's going to find a lunch box and I will start packing her and myself a lunch!  I found a couple awesome websites with lots of ideas (here and here) and will probably start making a couple things to feed the kids over the next few weeks to judge how much they will eat of any particular item.

It's time to start preparing for work, it's a busy week and I need to get in early today.  If you don't see a post by August, just wait longer ;-)

Relay for Life

I joke about being the most ungrateful cancer survivor out there.  I say I joke, but I think I totally hold that title.  I don't participate in cancer fundraisers.  I don't know why, beyond laziness and procrastination.  I feel like I was so young when I had it that I don't "connect" with other survivors like people that had it during shared periods with their peers.  I was the only person my age undergoing chemo when I did.  It was really difficult, not having anyone that was having the same feelings of anger that I was because adults had less anger and more resignation towards their own disease.  They fought for their kids and their spouses, and I didn't.  I had an amazing boyfriend and wonderful parents, and they were all wonderful while I duked it with a nuclear tumor in my chest.  I honestly didn't think I would have kids (surprise!).  The fact that chemo erases most of the memories from that time frame makes it almost like a surreal dream, the remembering a tv show that you watched years ago.

My friend Misty wrote me a message at work today.  Misty does participate in cancer fundraisers, and I'm happy to know that I have friends that support finding a cure.  She said the following:

"I walk tonight for my friend Mary. She is an ingrate of a survivor, thumbing her nose at the disease and the ridiculous hoopla involved in being a victim and allowing your life to be defined by it."


I read this and my eyes welled with tears.  I have never been prouder to be an ingrate.  Thanks Misty!

Longest Sunday in Existence

Some Sundays are gone before they even start.  This was not one of those Sundays.

First, I've been fighting off a bizarre mix of sore throat/sinus infection that feels like a touch of tonsillitis has set in since last week.  I only drank 3 beers the WHOLE DAY of the Fourth (anyone that knows me is shaking their head at their computer in utter disbelief).  And I'm trying to fight it off naturally, lots of fluids and Mucinex and ibuprofen and saline solution.  I don't feel as crappy tonight as I did a couple days ago, but my throat still feels like I'm parched all the time.  Could be all the fires and smoke, too.  If you're not from these parts, Montana is pretty much 10% burned to the ground now.  I made up that statistic, but if I'm even close to being right I will pretend like I knew it all along.

Thad has been working all day long.  All.  Day.  Long.  Real work, so I can't even be mad that I spend the entire day cleaning up kids' crap, sorting kids' clothes, entertaining/disciplining said kids with 0% help from my husband.  I don't have to like it, but I can't be angry about it.  I feel robbed of something.

Elora, Morgan and I (plus Joel's sister & niece) went to see "Brave" today, which was probably the highlight of the day.  Elora and I love lifting up the arm rest and getting snuggled up when we watch movies together.  And this one was excellent, I loved the story line, and even though it made me cry I didn't feel like Pixar raped my emotions the way they have in the past.  In fact, Morgan mentioned that her go-to movie to get herself crying is "Steel Magnolias" (agreed), and I had to counter that the first 5 minutes of "Up" is about as emotionally devastating.

As for Colter, someone has replaced my little cute and curious 2 year old with hell on wheels.  He is unreal, a typhoon of energy and destruction.  He is almost 3 and he is really starting to act like it.  Apparently both my kids are exhibiting really typical behavior for their ages, which is why I'm surprised there really aren't more child murders in this country.  BRAVO, AMERICA, IF YOU CAN ACTUALLY RAISE A CHILD PAST THIS AGE WITHOUT CAUSING PERMANENT BODILY HARM I FEEL A STATUE SHOULD BE ERECTED IN HONOR OF YOUR SELF CONTROL.

Anyways, I have several hours worth of DVRed television that I plan to go ignore in order to go to bed.  Enjoy your Monday, internetz!

Early Sunday Morning

Colter has been sneaking into my bed every night for the last week, and he seems to now be acclimating to sleeping with me because I was actually able to stay in the bed and continue sleeping for the last couple of nights.  He's a thrasher, with a side order of throwing his leg over anything next to him all night long.  And he is a furnace.  I woke up at around 3 and 4 a couple mornings last week.

This morning I woke up to my normal internal alarm that goes off before 6:00 am every day.  EVERY.  DAY.  Even vacation days when I want to sleep in, or hangover days.  Hangover days actually mean an earlier wake up for me, I don't know why.  So I used the extra time to sort some laundry, do a sinkful of dishes (all the disgusting rancid sippy cups are officially accounted for) and am writing this blog.  How ambitious of me!!!

July 1st.  Holy shit.  I just realized the entire month of June is out the door, waiving goodbye before it's even taken off its coat and hat.  It's a good thing I used a little time in June to update my online calendar with the upcoming school schedule, Thad's on-call schedule, and the day care providers holiday schedule, because July is going to race by.  Elora starts school in 1 month and 22 days, so of course it will race by.  I'm truly looking forward to some mommy/daughter girl time to school shop with her.  It's going to be so much fun!

(I just looked up behavior problems in 5 year olds on Baby Center.  Turns out I'm doing EVERYTHING WRONG.)

(I think that when the Fourth of July falls on a mid-week day you should observe it on a Friday.  Just saying.)

(It isn't even 7:00 am and I feel the day slipping away already.  Is this like a backwards summer seasonal depression?)

I have a new buddy, my neighbor Rhiannon.  Or Rhianna (lol, if she reads this she will laugh).  We had beers downtown yesterday afternoon, and it was fun!  Exclamation point!  I haven't been to two different bars in two hours since I was in my twenties!  Exclamation point!  And the patio at Tiny's was gorgeous on the last day of June!  That's right, one more exclamation point!

Just got big news that my bestie Jen J.-M. (documented in all her lush glory HERE) is coming to Montana at the same time as the MontanaFair/Sublime w/ Rome concert!  I've put off buying tickets, and now I know it's because I knew deep down that I should wait.  It's like I have a sixth, or even seventh sense, about these types of things..... I am super stoked.

My mom is coming for the next week, so I actually have to go make up her bed with clean sheets and give her a stack of towels.  I'm on to my next task, so you all have a great Sunday, internet folks!

It Happened One Weekend

This weekend started as a dream.  A vision of a world where life was fair and my hard work as a mother and wife (and daughter) paid off in the form of a weekend away with girlfriends, hanging out and doing what we do best.  Which is drinking and laughing.  

The dream sort of morphed into reality in the form of an overnight with ONE girlfriend (although many were there in spirit, of course), and what we really did best was eating and laughing.  We did a shit load of both.

From Bozeman 2012

Meet Misty.  We have been friends for over a decade and this is the first time we've had a sleepover.  And I think we knocked it outta the park.

From Bozeman 2012

We went to Bozeman for a little R & R, and it turned out to be one of the funnest and most relaxing trips I might have the pleasure of one day saying I have ever taken.

From Bozeman 2012

Bozeman is filled with a smorgasbord of styles, from the old stain glass in the buildings to the obvious art deco influences of some of the architecture.  This is an example of Art Nouveau I found downtown.  I had an architecture boner the whole time.  I also love the old Hotel Baxter you see in the background, they have a restaurant, a pub called Bacchus and a French chocolate shop.  I would be broke if I lived closer.  Three words.  Nipple.  Of.  Venus.

Let's talk about THE FOOD.  ***Disclaimer - If you are prone to palate-jealousy or are on a diet, please be forewarned that this is going to get graphic.  Proceed at your own risk.***

I put feelers out with some folks on the places to eat in Bozeman.  Cafe Zydeco was a recommendation from two foodies who have never been there but have heard from other foodies how amazing it is. 

We got to town and parked at the far end of Main Street, closest to the Montana Ale Works, as this was where we were planning to end our day of downtown shenanigans.  We walked a long way..... let's just say about 18 blocks... just to get to Cafe Zydeco.  If we had planned better we may have looked the place up and parked closer, but the spirit of adventure was alive in both of us.

SIDEBAR: This weekend was Pride weekend in Bozeman.  There were a lot of rainbows, and we witnessed one woman walking down Main Street topless.  More power to ya, sister.  Bras suck, and if men can do it I say brave the sunburn and relish the freedom.

So 18  blocks later, we have reached our destination, Cafe Zydeco, conveniently located next to La Chatelain Chocolat.  They have another location in the very same Hotel Baxter I mentioned earlier.  They have artisan ice cream and the prettiest chocolates I've ever set eyes on.  I wish I would have taken a picture..... now I'm overwhelmed with sadness.

Back to the Zydeco....  we walk in and it is warm.  Really warm.  Sweltering might be the word.  And there is a ceiling fan over their lovely ordering area that just gives you the feeling that it could be just as easily churning the air over a restaurant in New Orleans.

From Bozeman 2012

This is the area we chose to eat outside... we're in a little open shed, perfectly shaded and cool.

From Bozeman 2012

We order a muffaletta sandwich to share and an order of beignets with cafe au lait.

From Bozeman 2012

This is the close up of the sandwich.  There is capicola, salami, the most delightful ratio of olive tapenade and mayo, and the lettuce is sprinkled with balsalmic, which pretty much made my taste buds climax.

From Bozeman 2012

Then came the beignets.  They pour about a cup of powdered sugar over the 4 you order.  This is Misty enjoying hers.

From Bozeman 2012

I had a slight problem with my beignet.  When you bring the beignet to your mouth to take a bite, but end up laughing at something your traveling companion says, you wind up "antiqued" by the shower of powdered sugar that flies everywhere.  You will still have spots of white on your jeans and your sweater, no matter how much brushing of ones self you do.  Fact of life.

So after saying "this is so good" about 30 times during our visit we decide to head back downtown and peruse some of the other vendors on our way.  We skipped the stop at the next-door chocolate shop, opting instead to stop in at the location in Hotel Baxter.  I ordered toasted coconut ice cream.  It's the closest you can get to literally eating Hawaiian Tropic tanning lotion without the illness that occurs when you eat tanning lotion.  Decadent is an understatement.

From Bozeman 2012

We stopped at an Irish pub as we made our way back to the car.  Pub 317 is gorgeous, filled with dark wood and real Irish tall booths.  They have live Irish music on Sundays.  I think I'm going to make sure I'm there for a Sunday evening the next time I'm in Bozeman.

From Bozeman 2012

Misty and enjoying a beer before jewelry shopping.

Benjie's is jam packed full of beeeeeautiful jewelry, sterling silver, and it is all 50% off whatever the price tag indicates.  I got a new labradorite pendant and a pair of iolite earrings.  My total was less than 20 bucks.  Thanks again to Laura G for another great suggestion.

Once we finished jewelry shopping our last scheduled stop before we figured out what we were doing for the night was Montana Ale Works.

From Bozeman 2012

Where we saw the world's shortest bottle of ketchup.  Mary size.

From Bozeman 2012

This was my wedge salad. Pretty epic as far as salads go.

We had toyed with the idea of heading to Chico and staying in Livingston.  We ixnayed that because our bellies were too full and I had to face the reality that I would not be up late enough to take part in any of the fun stuff Chico would offer after hours.  So we got a room at a hotel with a pool and a hot tub.  Make that just a TUB.  There was nothing hot about it, but we did sit in it's tepid water for nearly two hours so it obviously cured something that ailed us.

I was in bed by 11:00 pm.  No night life, no bar scene, just two girls, some HGTV, and the promise of breakfast.

Breakfast.  If I'd only written about breakfast in this blog it would have been equally as long as it already is.  Misty, being the smartest researcher on the planet, Googled "best breakfast in Bozeman" and came up with two options.  One of which was The Nova Cafe.  If Bozeman hadn't already surpassed my culinary expectations, this would have put me right over the top.

Everything is local.  Everything is delicious.  The coffee is quite possibly some magical elixir, because it was neither too bitter nor too light and had just the right flavor.  JUST RIGHT.  I drank cup after cup, the waitress seemed prepared for this and made sure the fresh cream kept a coming.  The food.... well, it was so good I didn't even get a picture.  Misty had the breakfast burrito, which was epic.  I had the Bozli, which is two eggs scrambled with local ham and white cheddar, and their amazing potatoes.  AMAZING.  This was also a meal I think back to and remember saying "this is so good" and making yummy noises through to an almost obnoxious level.

We had to hit Zydeco's one more time on our way out, just to hold on to the magic a little longer.  One to-go gumbo and shrimp po' boy for me, a muffaletta for my friend, and a quick stop for "thank you" chocolates for my mom and sister for staying the weekend while Thad was on call.  Perfect.

This ext weekend we are in Colstrip for Colstrip Days, an excellent time to let kids run wild and enjoy time with old pals.  Riding the high of this weekend into the coming week will help keep the wind in my sails until my next awesome weekend adventure.

Under the radar

Wow, it's been a whole month since Cinco De Oh-no, and while there isn't a huge amount of news I'd like to at least catch up on things we've done since last month.

- I have not turned in Elora's school enrollment stuff, mainly because I need her birth certificate and have to order one online.  I should probably do that tonight.  I also need to send her enrollment for the YMCA after school program.  Hopefully having blogged about it will mean I can no longer procrastinate.  Don't count on it.

- I've fallen head over heels in love with the HBO series 'Girls'.  Hilarious.  It is nothing like "Sex and the City", except there is sex, 4 girls, and it's in NYC.  Other than that, nothing.

- Thad is doing super good in school, all A's so far.  He also just got an old car, like from the 80s, this weekend to save some money on his in-town-commute gas consumption. 
 
- An old Colstrip friend, Kari, moved to the Heights recently, and it's been fun getting to hang out with her and throw our kids together in her yard.  Super nice to have yet another close-by friend (shout out to my other close-by friend, Laura G, for being an impromptu hostess to my motley crew last night, sorry about the cup LOL). 

- Ask and you shall receive... after posting on Facebook that I needed a girls weekend a dear friend and bride-to-be approached me about making some fun weekend plans and we're taking a little trip to Bozeman this weekend to shop and eat and maybe dip in at Chico for the evening. 

- I read "Fifty Shades of Grey" this weekend.  Whoa.  In a word, that's all I can say.

- I also finished 'The Forsyte Saga' on Netflix this weekend.  Ten hour long episodes.  All packed to the brim with passion and Victorian/Art Nouveau/Art Deco architecture, clothing and jewelry.  I loved it.  I feel a gaping wound in my soul.  Now taking applications for a new Netflix show to consume me for a few days/weeks.

The summer already seems half over, mainly because of so many weekends with plans already made.  I took a calendar we got on our recent excursion to Idaho and marked each weekend with what was going on, and it boggles my mind how we can have so much going on, all leading up to the grand finale of Elora going to school. 

I better start a list of things that have to happen before 8/22/12.  The first thing on my list is to make a list.  I might make it more like an outline with bullets and a numbering lettering system.  I'm going to nerd the eff out on making a list right now.  Go find something else to do to kill some time, quit bugging me!