The ABC's of Me!
My mother got this little ABC quiz from a blog called Pondside. I couldn't resist doing it myself!

A. Age: A quarter of a century, until July :)

B: Bed size: Queen, and I love it. Nothing like a big bed to cover in pillows

C. Chore you hate: Taking the garbage outside

D. Dogs: I like German Shepherds, but don't own any. Only kitties at this house!

E. Essential start to your day: A cup of Keurig coffee in my zebra print mug.

F. Favourite color: Ruby Red!

G. Gold or silver: Silver all the way!

H: Height: 5'3. Not terribly tall, but it works out pretty well :)

I: Instruments that you can play: Clarinet

J: Job title: Research Specialist and Project Manager

K: Kids: Not yet! I think I'll wait till I'm married first.

M: Mom’s name: We'll call her Kit. :)

N: Nicknames: Yammers, Finn, Puka Shell

O: Overnight hospital stays: None that I can recall! Thankfully!

P: Pet peeve: Noisy people who don't know how loud they are. Think movie theater crinklers, party happy neighbors, the guy on the cell phone in the library.

Q: Quote from a movie: "Apple juice, apple juice flood!" from the Fantastic Mr. Fox

R: Righty or lefty: Righty

S: Sibling: One biological sister who I love to death. My best friend is a sister to me too.

T: Time you wake up: Ha ha! Depends...8am usually, sometimes 10 if I'm workin' late.

U: Underwear: I buy it like candy. Love fun undies.

V: Vegetables you dislike: Peas! Yuck!

W: What makes you run late: Long morning showers, sometimes I get carried away. I do so much thinking and problem solving in the shower.

Y: Yummy food you make: Cake, cookies, beignets...notice it's all desserts...

Z: Zoo favourite animal: Elephants! I got to ride one once. And baby tigers! Though I didn't ride those.

Your turn!

A Fabulous Day for a Drive

Oh what a drive down the highway yesterday! The wind threw everything into a frenzy, but the sun stayed strong and lit all those golden fields on fire! Figuratively. :) The only things burning down the valley were slash piles. Lacey, blue plumes rising over the tree line before a gust of wind would scatter the smoke. I drove in sunshine, and watched a bald eagle soar high above the road. Then the sky turned black and I entered a fog and the snow came down. It dropped 7 degrees in a matter of feet. In a heartbeat. 10 miles later it was warm and dry and spring again. My favorite phenomenon greeted me on the way home; where the sun turns the foreground orange and yellow, but the next storm is velvety purple on the horizon behind the mountains. The contrast between sun and shadow, yellow and blue is astonishing. It makes me smile. I tried taking photos as I drove, but of course was watching the road so they're a little funny. I like taking "road photos," camera phone pointed vaguely at the scenery, button pushed without looking at the camera, driver hoping it was in focus but too busy going 75 mph to actually care. By the end of the trip I checked my phone and laughed at the photos. Half of them were crooked, out of focus or contained mostly an image of the inside of my car. Ha ha! A few gave the impression of the day though, and I share those below. It was a fabulous day for a drive.

Cliffs catching the sunlight as evening came on.

One of the distant snow storms looming, covering all semblance of mountains.

Ah, there's the mountains in the distance! The storm is on the move.

And interesting mix of architecture styles on a street in Butte.

A Little Morning Advice

I have received a horoscope in my email inbox for the past....12 years. From the same site, same time every morning. I've read it every day and though I take it with a grain of salt, I do enjoy the ritual. Sometimes they're more eloquent than others. Some speak true while others are a bit odd. Some even tell me to go blow all my money! This one made me smile today so I thought I'd share it with you. I liked the idea:

Practice some social yoga today, bending and stretching yourself into shapes you didn't think were possible. You can learn all sorts of things about your people if you see them from new angles.

Mosaic Monday: Grant-Kohrs Ranch

Ah, the beginning of another week! This one will be busy, a lot of time on the highway and a pretty long to-do list at home. I won't be bored, that's for sure! Last week, on my way to Butte, I killed some time in Deer Lodge at the Grant-Kohrs Ranch. You can wander a lot of the original property, and all the old farm buildings still remain. This ranch used to cover 10 million acres! In four states, and two provinces. Wow! It's still used today as a cattle ranch too! As I walked the path, I took a few photos in the spotty light. It was a fun way to use up time!
Please head on over to Little Red House for more mosaics!

A Little White Sand, Roller Derby, and Jewelry!

My weekend started yesterday, after I took the day off to ski. Skiing fell through though, so I pampered myself instead. Or tried to! My massage I tried to book couldn't be booked till next week. And the fun errands I had to run meant not finding parking spots or dealing with horrible traffic. Not so much fun! I met up with my Mom though and she got me back on the right track. :) We got lunch and did some shopping, and I was feeling better. That afternoon a very good friend of mine joined me for an hour at Staycations. Staycations is a place in town that offers light therapy. You get a room, with lounge seats, heated white sand, a big screen TV with ocean scenes, scented candles, piped in music and you can bring in your own booze! We had a nice white wine and enjoyed the 80 degrees. It really worked! I felt like I'd been on vacation when we got done. :)

After I got home my Dad and I met up for a night at the roller derby. Yep, roller derby! We have a group of tough gals called the Hellgate Roller Girls. Two of the teams that they have played against each other and it was awesome. Ya gotta love the names: The Dirt Road Dolls vs. The Brawlin' Mollies. They even had mascots! We really had a good time and even got T-shirts. :)

So much fun! Today, I awoke and began cleaning the house. I straightened it all and made it look as clean and organized as possible. I was hosting a jewelry party! One of my sweetest friends is now a Park Lane jewelry representative, and I was soooo excited to host one of these get-togethers. There were a total of 7 us, enjoying brownies and iced tea, perusing jewelry catalogs and doing a LOT of laughing. It felt so good to talk about sparkly things and gossip and chit chat about what we were all up to. And the sun shown the whole afternoon! It was a gorgeous spring day here in MT and it put everyone in a great mood. I can't wait for my orders to come in now! Oh, how I love jewelry...

Next up for the weekend? My sister comes home tonight from her day on the ski hill so hopefully we'll drink a few beers and catch up about the week. Other than that, I shall be taking it easy and relaxing the next day and a half. Ahhhh... :)

Photo Challenge: Pet

IIIIIIIIIT'S FRIDAY! If you're reading this right now, I am already out skiing. :) I am going to meet my sister on the hill and meet all of her ski patrol buddies on their last weekend of work. Cool! I hope the snow is good! Today is also another Photo Challenge day through RAZMATAZ. Chania chose the theme of Pet this week, which was an easy one for me! I've mentioned my little fur baby many times before, and I love taking photos of her. She's a Russian Blue/ Manx also called a Cabbit. (She looks like a bunny, with small poufy tail, and big back feet for bounding.) She was a stray that sauntered her way into my heart about 5 years ago. Please head over to Chania's blog to see other entries of blogger's pets! :)

Historical Jumble

I recently zipped down the highway to Butte for a house appointment. As I killed time and wandered the town I ended up parking in front of this building. What I loved about it, was that it was originally a music hall. Judging by the next set of signs it was a jewelry store and a fine food retailer. And now? A casino. I loved that all the original signs remained, showing the evolution of this gorgeous brick building. I wonder what it will be in 10 more years, or 20 or 50. Who knows! This structure was built to last, and it will continue to reflect the times as long as it exists. :)

A Weekend Project

This weekend breathed Spring-like, though the sun was reluctant to shine. The temps were still warm though, and the rain smelled like summer. The supermoon last night had a clear sky to shine through, and the trees are almost ready to pop with buds. I took in as much as I could, and still checked off a lot of chores from my list. One of the big projects I needed to complete, were making baby shower invites for my best friend. I am throwing her shower in April and decided to hand make her invites. It was fun cutting paper, stamping, gluing, and spreading glitter. (I have glitter now EVERYWHERE!) I actually see a little of it glittering on my cat across the room right now! Oops! Now on to planning out the rest of the event and gathering supplies. It'll be a grand affair! :)

I want to show you a final invite, but there's too much information
on them, I don't want to post it on the web! Trust me, they're pretty!

Random Tidbits About Me

Every once in awhile I do these little quizzes. Kind of fun to see who answers in which way. The random things you learn! I got this from two of my good friends out in the blogosphere...


1. What was the highlight of your week? The surgeon checking my mouth and saying it's healing "perfectly!" That very rarely happens!

2. When is the next time you will kiss someone? Tomorrow afternoon when I leave my mom's house after an afternoon of hanging out. :) We always kiss goodbye!

3. What color shirt are you wearing? Lime green with the word "Chromatographer" written on it like a baseball T. It's a dorky chem shirt I received from one of our Gas Chromatograph vendors. Gotta love free science swag!

4. Are you good looking? God was kind, and I inherited good genes. :)

5. Last movie you watched? The Social Network, and I really liked it! It's fast paced and really interesting, especially because I use Facebook so much. I had to put the subtitles on though, because they talk so fast! Ha ha!

6. Last thing you ate? Chicken alfredo, with bow-tie pasta. Mmm

7. Last thing you drank? Water (as I took more pain meds for my mouth, Ack!)

8. When was the last time you had your heart broken? A year ago. And now I'm 10 times stronger. :)

9. Who came over last? My best friend visited today and I got to show her the baby shower invites I made for her!

10. Are you happy right now? Quite

11. What did you say last? "Be a good girl, and I'll see you in the morning" to my cat before I got in my bed to check mail tonight.

12. Where is your phone? Next to me. Just text my sister to remember to look at the Supermoon tonight in the sky. Closest it's been to Earth since 1993!

13. Are you left-handed? No, in terms of writing. But ambidextrous when it comes to most other activities.

14. Spell your name without vowels: Chrltt

15. Do you have any pets? A fuzzy Russian Blue who I've posted many a photo of!

16. Favorite Vacation? Disneyland last summer with my mom for my 25th Birthday rocked! But I'll always love the family trips to OR each summer, just me, Dad, Mom and Sister.

17. What do you dislike currently? My noisy neighbors! Ha ha. And the unfortunately painful healing after surgery. So not fun!

18. What are you listening to? One of my country Pandora stations. Can't get enough of my country! I need to go two-steppin' soon...

19. If you could have one thing right now what would it be? Probably to have my sister back home. She's been gone for a few days and it's getting lonely around the house! Time for some distraction and I want to hear all her stories from her cool weekend away. (Not to mention the fact I watched a weird episode of Law & Order earlier and have myself all freaked out. Company would be appreciated!) :)

20. What is your favorite scent? Cedar, gun oil, tomato plants, roses and hair dye.

21. Who makes you happiest? Taking joy in the small things in life. The tiny details that make each day extra special.

22. What were you doing at midnight last night? Calling the cops on the neighbors! I was waiting for silence so I could go back to sleep.

23. When is your birthday? July, and I love having a summer birthday!

24. Who has the same phone as you? My coworker does and when her ringer goes off I always check my phone cuz I think I'm getting a call.

25. Last time you went swimming in a pool? Last summer I went to "adults only" extra hours at one of our local public pools. How cool! My best friend and I splashed around in the lazy river, played on the slides, and giggled in the kiddy pools. It was a hoot to have the place reserved for 18 and older. :)

26. Do you read your horoscope? I've had my horoscope emailed to me from the same site every morning for almost 12 years! I take it with a grain of salt, but I still enjoy reading it.

27. Where was the last place you bought something? Today I found some wonderful deals at Old Navy. I finally found a vintage-inspired, one-piece, black swimsuit! Dream come true! Not to mention more flowy shirts and romantic inspired pieces.

28. How fast have you driven a car? I've snuck over 90 a few times passing semis on two lane highways. Just don't tell my mom. Oops....she reads my blog. ;)

29. What was or is your favorite subject in school? Chemistry had me hooked (and lead me to my college major) and I've always loved Math. In college though, I really loved my Ballroom Dance class. Foxtrot, anyone?

30. What type of boy or girl do you usually fall for? Out-going with straight teeth. Ha ha! Apparently I have a thing for the Irish/Scottish too. I've noticed a trend...

31. Do you have any hidden talents? The skin on my face is extremely elastic. You should see the faces I can make! You could call that a talent, right?

32. Favorite Song? Lonesome Dove by Garth Brooks

33. Do you like to sing at all? I do, but I don't have the pipes I wish I had. (Sister got the singing gene from my Mom. Me? Not so lucky.)

34. Dream Job? Forensic Scientist: Latent Prints or Serology/DNA

35. Are you an only child or do you have siblings? I have a sister! Coolest big sis ever.

36. Would you consider yourself to be spoiled? In a lot of ways, yes. Though I may word it as "blessed" or "lucky."

37. Do you drink? Socially, yes. Grey Goose anyone? It goes mighty well with stilettos.

38 Know any other languages? Sarcasm, if that counts! A little Spanish (which was useful in Peru two summers ago) and a wee bit of German.

39. Have you ever been IN a wedding? Once, for a very good friend of mine. Her flower girl didn't show. So, at age 24 I threw rose petals before her as she walked the aisle. Ha ha!

40. Do you have any children? Just the above mentioned fuzzy Russian Blue, but I have a nephew on the way which will be grand!

41. Do you want to be famous one day? Depending on the route I get there, sure. Famous as the best Forensic Scientist that ever lived? Famous for an awesome Chemistry discovery in the lab? Famous for the largest amount of cake eaten in one sitting? It could be cool.

42. Any Pet Peeves? Oh that makes me giggle. I've got quite a few. Though I've mellowed a bit in the last year or so. Must be my sister's chill attitude rubbing off on me.

43. What is your least favorite chore? Taking out the garbage. I always forget to do it, until it's dark and cold out.

44. Ever been out of the country? Yes, Canada a few times and then Peru.

45. When was the last time you laughed REALLY hard? A good, big belly laugh? I'm sure it was with my sister recently. She evokes those kinds of episodes. But I had a good laugh the other day talking to my mom, and realizing just how similar we are to each other. It's hilarious sometimes.

46. How many pairs of shoes do you own? I've never counted. But I've got a heck of a lot of them.

47. Are your toes always painted? Pedicures are one of my guilty pleasures and I do them every 3 months or so. I don't paint my own very often these days. My feet are just too far away! Ha ha.

48. What are you doing today? I shopped and had a good lunch with my friend. We chatted and I felt her growing baby belly. :) It was a pleasant afternoon.

49. When is the last time you cried? I got all watery recently when I felt my best friend's baby kick. I'd never felt that before. We were in public so I kept them in, but I wanted to cry and laugh and smile and dance.

50. Do you like rollercoasters? No. No. No. NO.

51. Have you ever been to disneyland or world? Disneyland! The happiest place on earth! I went when I was about 10 years old and then more recently when I was 25. Loved it! Always will.

52. Do you have a favorite cartoon character? I like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. He's a bit of a cranky pants, but I always just wanted to give him a hug and make him feel better. :)

53. How's the weather? Spring-like, finally. Mild temps and a decent amount of sun.

54. Last time you were sick? Too many narcotics on an empty stomach! That doesn't really sound right... They were for after surgery. And though the pain drifted away on a happy fluffy cloud, I felt like I was drunk. And it wasn't the good kind of drunk.

55. Do you wish you could move? I like to daydream about future houses. Decorating them. Landscaping yards and being able to have a dog. But I'm not in any hurry to move from where I'm at right now.

56. What is your dream car? That's a hard one. I've always (since I was much younger) wanted a Lexus SC430 hardtop convertible. Still do! I always thought it would be swell to have an old chop-top hot rod too. Cadillacs make me smile. And these days, more practically, I'd like an F-150. :)

57. If you could be anywhere right now where would it be? I've been in a fantasy world lately thinking about sandy beaches and pina coladas. I would love to be in Hawaii right about now. It's time for a little luxury.

58. Are you happy with your life? Very much so. As the wise quote says "they never said it'd be easy, just that it'd be worth it." And I'm enjoying every minute as it goes by. :)

Photo Challenge: White

It's Friday so another photo challenge is upon us from RAZMATAZ. This week's theme was White. I enjoyed wandering the house and looking for white in all of its different shades. Things change so much as the light changes, the sun sweeps through the windows, and dusk comes in. I ended up most fascinated with the clean bones of this deer skull my sister owns. We have it hung in the living room. I like its juxtaposition with some of our more elegant pieces. It adds a modern Montana feel with my other white and black accents.

A Relaxed St. Patrick's Day

Some of my St. Pats goodies from my Mom, socks, stickers, drinking money!

I hope you all had a great Thursday yesterday, especially if you were decked in green and celebrating the Luck O' the Irish! As my mother talks about in her latest blog post, we discovered Irish ancestors! So this year I felt that I could officially celebrate the holiday. I'm authentically Irish! I wore my shamrock socks, my green shirt and vintage dark green beads around my neck. I painted my nails lime and wore my most emerald-y jewelry. After work I went home to curl my hair and put it up in green ribbons. I was ready to go! I joined a coworker of mine (also quite Irish) and we met up with 12 of her friends at one of our favorite watering holes. Irish Car Bombs were chugged, stew was eaten with delight, and we listened gaily to the tune of an Irish fiddle band. At the beginning of the night we had big ideas to crawl to bars and dance some jigs, but the week (and maybe our age) caught up to us and we kept it simple. I was actually pretty excited to walk home at 10pm! I then snuggled in with the cats for a slumber with visions of shamrocks dancing in my head. :)

Drinks! Friends getting ready for the Car Bombs. :)

Things I'm Loving Right Now

The sun is shining through the screen door, the cats are lounging in the warmth and I have been gleefully doing some spring cleaning. A lazy lunch with the sister and an easy evening ahead. We may get more snow yet (that's MT for ya) but I am reveling in the Spring that is today. I look forward to flowers blooming, gardening, painting and fixing up the house. Ahhh. :) So, I thought I'd do another addition of Things I'm Loving Right Now!

1. Fancy shoes. Warm weather = no snow or ice which = stiletto season! I'm excited to give my shoes some exercise out there!

2. Flowy, feminine fabrics. I am in love with romantic clothes and delicate details. (Like my purple and pink flouncy top. Nothing looks better with dark denim and heels!)

3. Flowers! My coworkers sent me beautiful white and pink tulips as a Get Well Soon gift this week. I smell them every time I walk by. I planted tulip bulbs last fall for the first time and am soooo excited to see them sprout!

4. Magazines! I love a good magazine and I adore House Beautiful. Today's newest edition flew itself into my mailbox and I am looking forward to flipping through the glossy pages. I love how inspired I get to work on my own home, and I love to learn how others decorate and celebrate the seasons.


How girly my list is this time around! I think now that my face is less swollen from surgery, and I'm feeling human again I want to feel pretty and lady-like again. Too many days of messy hair and pajamas will do that to a girl. :) And as much as I like snow and winter, the multiple layers, dry air and lack of sun has made me weary inside and out. :) What are you folks loving right now?

(shoe pic courtesy of Badgley Mischka)

Photo Challenge: Perfume

It's Friday! Though it doesn't feel much like a Friday to me. (I've spent most of the week off due to teeth issues. You can read my last post about it.) I took a little time to do this week's photo challenge though. The idea was "perfume" and I used my favorite bottle of my "evening" scent. I thought it looked nice against the soft lace background. (Which are actually my curtains!) :) Head on over to RAZMATAZ's blog and see Chania's photo and all the other participants!



Have a great weekend!

Head's a little lighter...

Well, it's that time of year. Spring means a few things for me here in MT. Warmer weather, baby cows, sprouting tulips and, of course, teeth problems! If you remember back to last year, I took a whole month off of work after a tooth died, got pulled, needed surgery and caused nerve damage. It was quite the experience. Well, this Spring didn't disappoint in the same vein. After an optimistic trip to the orthodontist a few weeks ago, I was told that they couldn't even think about straightening my teeth till they took care of all the bad ones. Bad ones? What bad ones?! Turned out two of them were dead and in desperate need of root canals. Or so we thought. Off I go to the root canal guy who sadly shook his head and said that something was eating the roots and they were too damaged. We couldn't save them. Ok, next stop, my oral surgeon from last year. He proposed to pull them...plus my three remaining wisdom teeth. Oy! So, yesterday I went in and saw my favorite nurses, and drifted off to sleep under anesthesia. Five teeth were taken out, a biopsy performed and a bone graft. Oofta! Woke up crying, as usual, and begging for pain meds. Retired to my Mom's house where she could care for me. Nothing beats a Mom for that! They're just so good at taking care of people! She knew exactly what I needed and surprised me with things to keep me entertained. :) I spent the night in their spare room and thankfully didn't need to keep taking the fancy pain meds. Oy they make me sick! Today I faired much better and have been able to relax. My face is as puffy as can be and I talk like a fool, but things are healing already. Amazing how fast the mouth heals up! So I'll be taking the next day or two off and recouping. It'll be a nice, very long, weekend. Next up in the dental world? (Because of course it doesn't end here!) I'll be getting braces! Yep, a full set. Just like when I was in 5th grade. Then comes jaw surgery and dental implants. My teeth keep me busy that's for sure. At least it's always interesting around my house!

Photo Challenge: Jewelry

Happy Friday y'all! I hope you all have a pleasant weekend planned. Today's photo challenge theme from RAZMATAZ was Jewelry. Cool! I have a lot of jewelry and have always loved the sparkly stuff. As a kid I could always be found at the jewelry counter of any department store with my face up to the glass. :) For this challenge I had some fun with jewels and fruit. Ha ha! Enjoy!