Let’s talk Montana.

I’ve been here for two weeks now (almost...I got here on the morning of the 20 ^th), and boy have I had some adventures.

I’m not scheduled to start work until June 10 ^th, so I had (and still have) time to kill. As soon as I got off the plane, nearly literally we immediately left for my sister’s house, which is an 8 hour drive away. On the way, I took lots of really pretty landscapey pictures that were really awesome. Especially of Flathead Lake. If you’re ever in northern Montana, check it out. It’s gorgeous.

I took this photo. Isn't it lovely?

Mom and I also stopped at the Wheat Montana place to get some supper. We had the best Reuben sandwich I’ve had in my whole life (including the ones I’ve had in NYC) and some delicious macaroons (thick kind, not sandwichey kind). It was amazing. They also sell these cinnamon rolls (for TWO DOLLARS) that are as big as dinner plates. In the picture, my mom's whole hand is under it. I got one and we ended up splitting it six ways.

My sister Melissa lives with her partner, Adam, and their baby who is just about 18 months old. She knows how old the kid is like down to the day but I never understood that...ie, “My baby is 19 months and one week,” actual quote from a lady at the grocery. Maybe it’s because I don’t have kids. I don’t know. Anyway. Adam is gone out of town for a family thing for like three weeks, and he usually stays home with their little boy. Because he is gone, Melissa needed some fulltime childcare while she is at work from 8-4 every weekday. Who better than the twenty something with no commitments! Perfect. The kid is also hilarious, doing fun things like this:

So right now, my day looks kind of like this:

8:00    Mel leaves, baby wakes up.

8:30    Breakfast time! Baby likes scrambled eggs the best, so we eat lots of that.

9:00    Sesame Street is on PBS.

10:00  Sesame Street is on again. It’s the same episode, but he does not seem to notice.

11:00  Time for an outing! There’s a lake here with a sad little beach, and a park. We go somewhere.

1:00    Lunchtime. Usually this means leftovers. Today we had chicken stew from yesterday. It was still delicious.

1:30    Naptime. Baby, who is the best baby, sleeps for three hours every afternoon. He also sleeps like a rock, giving me time to compose this blog post, take a shower, and get real work done before he gets back up. Things like doing the dishes and cleaning up lunch also fall under naptime. By the time it’s time to get up, the workday is just about over. It’s magnificent.

This is the closest I have come to experiencing parenthood by a long shot. I have babysat in the past through high school, and even a little into university for extra cash, but that is usually a one-off three-hour stint and then I’m done. This is every single day for the whole day. He’s a very well-behaved happy baby, but still...that’s a lot of toddler.

In the evenings and on weekends we’re planning out and doing some fun things, so this isn’t like a punishment. I get to see my sister, who usually lives across the country from me, and I get to adventure! The first night that I was here, Melissa and I (plus the baby) went out to dinner at the Buffalo Cafe. The things I like about that place were that all the burgers (all they had was burgers) were all made on site, and are made out of local ingredients. We each got a TPA, which was a pale ale brewed with Earl Grey tea, that was made only three blocks away! Great all around!

On Tuesdays, there’s a pretty fantastic farmer’s market in the evening here. All of the markets I have been to run early on weekend mornings, and I usually sleep in and miss the whole thing. This is great! It goes from like 5-8, and it’s awesome because the sun is just starting to sink down, so it isn’t too hot, and everyone is in a good mood because they didn’t have to get up early on a Saturday. Also, I got these positively scrumptious huckleberry macaroons (the dense kind again, not the sandwichey kind...those aren’t popular here). I don’t think you can even get huckleberries on the East Coast. Holy crap were they good. Only 50 cents each!

Statue at the farmer's market. Fancy mountain fish.

I also got my haircut last Thursday. I liked the girl that did it a lot. Her name was Amy. I know that it is unlikely that she’ll do my hair ever again because I’m only here another week and a half, but dang. She gets my highest praise. It’s also quite a lot shorter now. My hair has been down past my shoulders for the last decade, and more than halfway down my back for the last three years or so. Not anymore! The curl is also much more pronounced and easy to make work when it’s this short. I will be honest, it came out a little shorter than I was expecting. But that’s okay. It will just take some getting used to. It’s shorter than it has ever been since I was like nine. I’ve been using some new hair products that I’ll review out next week for you guys. 

On the weekends I’ve been having a few little adventures, which I’ll be posting about over the next few days. I hope you guys are all having a great summer, and I hope you guys are all having some adventures, no matter how small.