Hey Hey It's Turkey Day!

Okay, so T-Day was yesterday, but I was too busy stuffing myself full of goodness (physically and spiritually) to actually post something on here.

I gathered with friends this year instead of family, and I must say I had a blast. I've made some great friends since I've lived here and was so thankful that I was able to spend this holiday with them. It's a little hard not having family around at these times so I'm glad I have people in my life right now that make me feel right at home.

We made a ginormous turkey which took 2 more hours than expected to cook so we ate pretty late (8:00 instead of 6:00) but we had so much fun playing games and enjoying each other's company that it didn't matter! (The never-ending flow of wine kinda helped, too...) And by the time we were all done eating we were ready to go home and go to sleep so it was just about perfect. My roasted brussels sprouts and homemade cranberry sauce were a hit, and everyone pitched in with great dishes, complete with 3 different pies. So I will be going back over to Allie's (the hostess) tonight for a second round of leftovers, mmm mmm!

I will say that yesterday really made me realize how well I've got it right now. Of course life isn't perfect and there are always things that I could complain about or wish for, and it's so easy to get caught up in all of that, but all in all my life ain't that bad. I am in a really good place with great people surrounding me and I just feel so blessed to be where I am in the grand scheme of things. It makes it easier to forget the petty things and enjoy just being happy.

:)

Where is home?

I was talking with my dad the other day and I mentioned going home this weekend to Illinois for a visit. He promptly corrected me, saying that Illinois was no longer "home", and that I had a new home now. That surprised, saddened, and made me happy all at once. It kind of hit me - Montana is my home now. Even though I've been out of the house for 7 years, I've never really felt like I was "living" somewhere else; it was always a temporary gig. This time it's for real. And I must say, I love it. Don't get me wrong, I will always enjoy going back to see family and friends and the places I've come to know very well over the years. It's just nice to feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be, to feel a part of something more than just a campus.

I'm a freakin' adult now, how crazy is that?!

:)

There's this season between summer and winter called fall. Apparently Montana is unaware.

I was waiting to post until I had a photo to prove that the first sign of winter had shown its face, but it's been too long and I just can't wait any more!

We had our first snowfall a few weeks ago now, and as soon as I woke up and saw it on the ground I almost went and put my ski boots on... But I refrained, and took some photos instead. It melted pretty quickly but it sure got me excited for ski season to get here!

We've had more snow here and there, but nothing has stuck for more than a day yet. The mountains, on the other hand, have been covered for about a week now, so it looks like it'll stick around for the rest of the winter. At least one brave (or stupid, not sure) soul has skied up on Big Mountain so far, but it's not quite to the point where it won't completely scratch your skis up...

It's funny to realize that I've had the heat on in the house and car for about a month now when back in the midwest I'd just now be dusting off the cold weather gear... But I'm definitely not complaining! Speaking of -- I'll be back in IL in 2 weeks for a quick visit, so if you'll be around let me know. Might be the last chance until the spring... gotta get your Emily fill while you can!

Back in the Park

Yesterday I took advantage of my day off and went for a hike in Glacier Park. The clinic just received 2 new students on their 4th and final clinical rotations from Wash U and one of them joined me. We headed out on a long drive to Many Glacier - possibly the farthest possible spot to travel to for a hike, but one of my favorite areas of the park.

We started out on a mild but long 6 mile hike out to Cracker Lake. This lake is known for its turquoise color due to the way the water refracts the light. We traipsed through the trees until it finally opened up into a valley surrounded by jagged peaks. It was super windy and we had to hunker down behind some rocks and a low tree for cover while we ate our late lunch. The views were amazing though and it was a pretty clear day so I snapped some pics while trying to stay upright against the wind. We decided not to spend too much time at the lake though since we could see some low clouds rolling in over the mountains and had heard warnings of a storm coming in that night.

We made it back to the car just as it was starting to spit rain, and began to make our long trek back to Whitefish. All was well until we pulled into a gas station on the east side of the park when I noticed that the steering was a bit off. As I got out of the convenience store I saw the culprit - a flat front tire.... Erik helped me put the spare on in the dark and cold, but we quickly determined that there was not enough air in it to get us home safely. After asking around and having to drive an hour to the next town we finally were able to air it up and then make the even longer trek home... a total of about 7 hours of driving (compared to the 4 1/2 hours spent on the trail) and we were finally back in town, at 11:30 at night. Talk about a long day... But it made for a good story and I came back with some pretty amazing photos, if I do say so myself. Never a dull moment with this gal!

Check out the rest of the pics here!

"I think they named a restaurant after that lake."

It's a rainy Sunday, so what better way to pass the time than by doing a little blogging?

I went for another kayak day trip yesterday in Glacier Park with a friend. This time was slighly more successful than my last attempt, and we even managed to get both kayaks on my roof rack, though it took several tries and the purchase of a new cam strap... But we figured it out and getting them back on the car at the end of the day was a snap! We paddled on the north shore of Lake McDonald for a few miles and then turned around and came back. It was an overcast day and the wind picked up a bit on our way back, bringing along a few showers, but it was still really fun and the views were gorgeous as always.

We stopped at Freda's in West Glacier on the way back and enjoyed a few drinks since it was their last night of the season. Some of the park road is closing on the 21st so everything is starting to shut down now. Time to start thinking about snow!

Speaking of snow -- I finally own my very own pairs of skis and boots! All that's left to get is a season pass and I'll be set. So excited for ski season!!

Camping and not camping

A few weekends ago I went with a friend to Kintla Lake. Some of her friends were hiking from the campground up to Waterton Lake (a solid 30 miles in one day, whew!) and we would drive their car back to town so they didn't have to get it on the way back. We stayed the night and as the other girls were making their way over Boulder pass we borrowed a canoe from a family at the campground and paddled around the lake for a bit. It was a perfect day to be on the water; the lake was still as could be and the sun was out high.

I attempted this past weekend to take one of the students back up to Kintla to do some camping and kayaking, but the friends we were meeting ended up camping somewhere different and after several hours driving around trying to find them (cell service is nonexistent up there) we threw in the towel and just headed back to Whitefish. I did manage to find an awesome campsite for the next time I want to spend a weekend up there, though, so it wasn't a complete bust. And of course we stopped at the Polebridge Mercantile to stock up on some amazing sweets. Can't complain about that!

Seamstress extraordinaire

I developed another roll of film, and lo and behold, I had photos of my lovely curtains that I finished a couple of weeks ago. I just had to share --

My little helper (who does very little actual helping) being a little curious:


The finished product - kitchen:


No more dark red room divider and plaid country curtains! And since I put a suspension rod in the window of the kitchen and took down the curtain rod that was there, I can now open my cabinet all the way!

The finished product - bedroom:


I don't know about the length of these... I might end up making them shorter so that they sit inside the window frame, but for now they do the job.

Not too shabby for my first attempt, ey? Now I'm going to have to think of more projects!