Downsizing

Let's face it; I hate moving, but the last two and a half years, it seems to be what I do. The plus side of it is that I am getting really good at packing. The first time I moved, I just threw all of my pots and pans and mixing bowls in a box, as I was actually packing the truck. Surprisingly, nothing broke. The majority of what I own is kitchen stuff; and as luck would have it, that is usually the hardest room to pack.

Every time I move, I vow to get rid of the things I haven't used since my last move, and this time, I'm actually doing it. Why keep moving two crock pots, when I haven't used either in almost two years? I'll keep the smaller one just because you never know when it might come in handy. And six pancake flippers? Really? Who needs all this excess stuff?

I've also come across a box from my past. Pictures of my ex-fiance from when we were together. I can't bring myself to throw the photos away, but what do I do with them? I'm not hanging on to that relationship, but we are still friends and I really think it would be wrong to discard them.

As far as moving goes, I really do hope that this is a place that I can stay put, in the same residence for at least a year, if not longer. I'm sick of uprooting myself every year, 5 months, or 10 months. It makes me feel unstable and unsettled, which I am neither of. I hope that whatever it is I'm searching for will find me, because as of right now, I am focusing on work, and letting life lead me in the direction it so chooses. I'm letting go of fantasies, and where I thought I would be at this point in my life, because really, I am where I am supposed to be.

That leads me to a realization that I had the other night over a glass of wine with a good friend; I wouldn't be here if I had gotten married almost four years ago. If my ex had not had second thoughts, we would be married, with children, and I would feel trapped. The pain that that breakup caused me made me stronger. It also made me realize that he didn't want to get married and have children so I left for Montana, where I was blessed to meet Justin, and through him, my new boss. It's funny how life has a way of working itself out, don't you think?

Photo Friday

I shouldn't be surprised that it is Friday already. It seems like the weeks fly by as of late, and I am always scrambling to keep up! As promised, this week I did get out with my camera, mostly due to taking my parents to Glacier, and also because I wanted to play with my new lens, a 50mm/f 1.8 Nikon lens.

This first picture is one of the sushi rolls I made last night with Amy. Fish is the only meat that I do consume, and I am careful to choose wisely in my purchases of it. I tried to give it up completely last fall but got very weak and had to start including it in my diet, albeit sparingly.

While my parents were here, I took them to the antique mall; four floors of amazing and not so amazing stuff. I saw the coffee grinder and thought that it was amazing.

Of course, another picture of Oliver posing was necessary as well.

And to finish off the week where it all started: in Glacier National Park.

Iowans in Montana

Amongst all the other excitement in my life, my parents came for a visit last week. It had been almost a year and a half since I had seen them and to be honest, I was nervous. Yeah, silly, huh? I was worried they wouldn't like it here, or that they wouldn't like me anymore. That's even sillier, but somehow I felt they were judging me right away. I know that they just want the best for me and want me to be happy, but who ever said that I wasn't?

The biggest thing they wanted to know about was why I don't go to church. OK, I haven't gone to church on a regular basis since forever ago, so this isn't really what their concern was. What they really wanted to know was why I turn more to Buddhism than anything. Okay, that's easy; when you've dated a Buddhist philosopher who is really into it, it's kind of hard not to also get interested in it as well. It just seems to fit now more than anything and I can relate more to it. I'm not a Buddhist though. I don't want to call myself anything because, quite frankly, it doesn't matter. All that really matters is that I know that meditating every day has helped me, and that is something I can for sure say I've gained from learning about Buddhism. It's just a different kind of praying than what my parents are used to, not that they pray every day.

Another inquiry they had was about me not eating meat (except for fish occasionally). Yeah, that is from my ex as well. It was just easier for me not to not eat meat since we cooked so many meals together from the beginning. What kept me at it was that I noticed I felt better, looked better, and all around was eating more healthy. Bad thing? Nope, not in my book.

Other than those few sticky points, their visit was a good one. I took them to Glacier National Park with my friend Amy and we took a lot of photos (of course). Mom was quite impressed with how beautiful everything was. We were lucky and saw six bears our first night, as well as a moose. A little bit of tension developed over a stupid thing, and kind of put a damper on our evening, but eventually it faded away, and all was back to normal.

My dad floated the river with me and a couple of friends while my mom went shopping, we grilled out in my backyard, checked out the River City Roots Festival, enjoyed the best pizza in town; Biga, and even got a couple games of Euchre in. All in all, it was a good visit. I'm glad they got to see where and what I've been up to for the past two years. They ended up leaving on Monday after lunch, a day early, but I was ok with that. Sometimes it is just downright exhausting entertaining people all of the time. I was ready to have my space back and I know that I will see them soon enough.

Fate

I'm a big believer in fate. The things that are going to happen in your life will find a way whether you want it to happen or not. This includes heartache, happiness, whether or not you will have a family, etc. I believe my career fate started to change on New Year's Eve last year. While in Helena for the holidays I met a gentleman in the jewelry industry. I was like a kid in a candy store and enjoyed very much being able to talk to someone who had a passion for stones. He had mentioned then that he was looking for an assistant but I didn't think much about it other than to think how neat it would be to work for him.

It was shortly after this meeting that I seriously started thinking about going back to school through GIA. I was enrolled just over a month after our first meeting , and within a few weeks, I was already starting to think that working on the gem side of the industry might be very fascinating for me. All I had to do was finish my classes and I'd be able to seek out a position.

I had been keeping in contact with my new industry friend sporadically just because of Ronnie's ring. Through the summer he had told me to let him know when I would be in Helena so that we might get lunch. It just happened that I was in town for Justin's send off to India a week and a half ago and it worked out to meet. As it turns out, it was really an interview of sorts. What he was looking for was someone to help him get organized and keep track of his inventory. I would also be filling orders and typing up invoices, among other things; that is, if I was interested. Was I? YES! We parted ways with the idea that we would both think about it, and he would be back to me in a week.

That week was up more quickly than I realized and he was calling. I knew what it would take me to leave my current position but really didn't think he would offer enough. To my delight he did, and I am very excited to be moving on to a new opportunity where I will learn a lot and broaden my knowledge of the jewelry industry.

Photo Friday

Yet another very busy week, with lots to do and not much interest in taking photos. However, that will change today, as I head to Glacier National Park with my parents and my friend Amy.

Last week was a bit difficult for me, as my ex-boyfriend returned from Taiwan to Montana for just about a week. It did to me just what I thought it would; put me in a tailspin so to speak. I never thought that I was over him for the month that he was away but I did feel that I was doing great. I'm doing fine now again, and hopefully I can let go of our relationship for good this time. No one said moving on was easy, but perhaps I can learn something from it.

It was a fun weekend in Helena with his family, as always. His sister is in town for a while and I have enjoyed her company since I met her last Christmas. Such a great family, and so many great memories. I feel blessed to have met this family, and will miss seeing them as frequently as I have in the past. Must learn to let go...

Just yesterday I received my new 50mm lens for my camera. Oliver has always been a great subject, and I'm sure I will have many more subjects to experiment with this weekend.

Too busy...

I've been so busy as of late, I am now overwhelmed with many things to do. Good thing I can multi-task or I'd be sunk! Tomorrow, my parents arrive from Iowa for their first visit to Montana together. I'm not really sure what we are going to do, but a trip to Glacier is definitely in the plans.

I've been hanging out with friends and getting out in the sun. Every weekend since the middle of June has pretty much been filled with either backpacking, road trips, or visitors.

While I enjoy being busy, and seem to make my life that way, I am starting to feel stretched thin. The last evening that I had completely to myself was August 10...I think. With my mom and dad in town through the 30th, it's looking like September 1st will be my day. Just work, no phone, no email, no facebook...just me.

When it seems that my life is starting to settle down, something comes up, and everything is up in the air. I don't want to say such is life, but it is what it is. I'm just busy...busy being me, finding my happiness, and getting resettled into this life that is starting to seem all too short. So many different directions that it could lead me, and I have only to choose which path to take. Making decisions has never been easy for me. Ask me what I want for supper and it could take an hour to decide. Ask me where I want my life to lead me? Hmm; best be making that decision so that I have time to enjoy it.

Photo Friday

This past weekend I celebrated my 31st birthday with Kristen at the Grand Targhee Bluegrass festival just outside of Driggs, ID. Yet again, this week has been super busy with visitors and friends so I have not gotten out with my camera, so all I have to share are weekend photos.

We headed out in a light rain from Missoula on Friday morning and arrived around 4pm to cloudy skies and cool temperatures. We set up our tent and headed into the venue for the evening. Unfortunately, it started raining around 8pm and we were completely soaked and cold for the rest of the night. However, we still managed to hav

e a great time, meeting several new and interesting friends.

On Saturday and Sunday, the weather was perfect, with no clouds in sight all day. The music was wonderful, as was the food and microbrews!

Monday morning we took the ski lift up and were greeted with a fantastic view of the Grand Tetons. It was a great weekend and I am looking forward to going to another festival sometime.

These last two photos were taken with my phone so I thought I'd share them as well. The monstrous zucchinis were grown in my backyard garden, as were the carrots. Last night I started shredding one of the zucchs and made a batch of zucchini raisin cookies. So delicious! The rather large beaver is one that has been visiting my backyard sporadically to munch on the apples. As long as he stays out of my garden he is a welcome visitor!