Photo Friday

Here it is again. These are the only photos worth sharing this week, and they are both from Missoula. Twist walked right into the river for a drink of water, and a few seconds later was scared by the sound of Brennan's Wave. I am slowly making headway with him and his fears. He will always be a bit timid, but he is getting better as the weeks go on and the love keeps coming his way.

I'm off to Bozeman today to talk PR with a potential new employer and to go on a fly-fishing trip tomorrow. On Sunday I will head to Denver, CO to see Eve for a few days. Then I'll be heading to Iowa to see family and friends. I'm so ready for this trip, but not at the same time. Packing up Oliver and Twist has proven to be more challenging, but what is worse is that I have no clue how they will take this long of a trip. In total, we will be in the car for right around 22 hours. At least it will be broken up.

For now, I'm off!

Awareness

This last weekend found me in Missoula for my first visit since moving to Helena a month ago. I was excited to get out of town and into the one that had been home for so long. I brought Twist with and he was a champ, considering how timid he can be. He warmed up to our hosts, Joe and Amy relatively fast and didn't cause any problems with the resident cat, Charlie.

What I soon realized was that I was not happy in Helena. Don't get me wrong, it's a great town, but...when you're miserable at work, it's hard to see the good in anything. My high hopes for my career move were slightly tainted at the end of the first week, only to get progressively worse the second, third, and fourth week. Verbal abuse and being made to feel like my bosses personal slave was enough to make me strongly question why I was working for him. Upon meeting up with my best girlfriends in Missoula, they were able to get it out of me very quickly that I was not happy. They were worried about me. I hadn't been my usual perky self even on the phone with them. They told me they were behind me no matter what I chose to do, but that no one should have to feel the way I was about a job.

Monday was the breaking point for me. I was so stressed out and nervous within 10 minutes of my boss arriving at work, that I felt ill. A couple of friends that are familiar with my situation, one having seen the abuse, convinced me that we could work something out, and that it just wasn't worth it.

So, Tuesday morning, I went in and quit. And then came home and took a three hour nap. Today, I feel GREAT! I know I've made the right decision and a better opportunity is on the horizon.

Photo Friday

Another week of not so many photographs. Hopefully I'll get a bunch while I'm in Missoula this weekend.

Family

There are many different definitions of family. Of course, the biological family is first and foremost the most important. My parents, as difficult as they can be at times, are irreplaceable. I love them, and am sure that I don't tell them as much as I should. My eldest sister I don't talk to enough, but I can tell that when I do, she loves me. It warms the heart, and makes me ever more eager to see her in a few weeks. However, I chose the weekend of my visit for my other sister. The weekend that she is not working. Did I consider that Jill might be working? No. Hmm, I should be thinking about her as well. Bad sister, Julie...

On the few occasions per year that I am blessed with seeing my biological family, it is great. Nothing is better, and I feel loved.

In the interim, I have family here in Montana as well. For the past two years, they were my co-workers at my last job. I am still very attached to many of them, and not to others.

Here in Helena, I have family too, however, I sometimes think that I should let them go, as they are not mine anymore. That does not make me love them any less.

Hug your family tonight...and say I love you.

On ice

After moving to Helena, I was in a bit of pain again from lifting boxes up and down and in and out of trucks. This pain I speak of is in my lower back again. It had subsided again, and then late this week, I tweaked it again. Today, I am in so much pain that it brings tears to my eyes, and I am sitting on an ice pack. If that doesn't help, I will be resolved to taking pain killers again. Next on my list after this post is to find a doctor here in Helena.

My fear is that this is going to be a recurring problem for the rest of my life. It started over two years ago and comes and goes. I wonder if the stress of a new job helped exacerbate it, or if not working out regularly for the past two months has contributed as well. A year and a half ago, I was very close to needing back surgery, and I was not nearly in as much pain. I would be lying if I said I wasn't terrified that this time I may need surgery.

I need to take care of myself a little bit better. Anyone have any tips on how to resolve lower back pain?

Photo Friday

What a busy three weeks it has been! I've hardly had time to go out and take photos, but last weekend finally changed that. Eve and I took our dogs on a short hike and Twist loved it! He did get a little carsick on the way to the trail head, but I think that most of that was due to going up and down streets and how warm it was.

He doesn't really like the Gentle Leader that I put on him, but it does help me control him. I've noticed that it is chaffing his nose so I'm easing off it a bit. Otherwise, life with a dog is great! He is still quite attached to me, which is just fine if you ask me. Oliver still is very uninterested in him, while occasionally getting frisky with him. Oliver doesn't seem to be mad at me for bringing in another attention stealer, as he still gets perks that Twist doesn't, like sleeping on the bed.

This weekend, I chose not to go back to Missoula. I miss it very much but didn't want the hassle after a stressful week. And the thought of it being First Friday was too depressing. Hopefully next weekend will find me in my beloved Missoula again.

Photo Friday...a day late, again

The plan was to make it home early last night and get this post in on time, but my early night turned into quite a late one of playing cards and reminiscing about our childhoods. It's also been a pretty busy week for me; I've been hanging out with a friend that is leaving tomorrow for Denver, trying to get completely settled and unpacked at home, and doing a bit of research for work at night. To make myself even busier, I am adopting an eight month old Shepherd cross from the local shelter. I've named him Twist and he is going to be a great companion.

The weather is beautiful here in Montana, and the leaves are turning. Best get outside on a hike with my new pup!