The Princess Thing

The Princess Thing

A very good article by one of my favorite authors, Meg Cabot. You can still be a princess and not have to rely on a man to save you.

What I've Learned from Living in the Snow...

What I've learned from living in the snow:

• Anything below 10 degrees feels the same. 10, 0, -10, -20... it's all just cold.
• Always walk with your knees bent, as if you're about to fall. Because you will fall, and it will hurt.
  
• Snow tires are a must. As soon as I got mine, I realized that my car CAN drive in the snow. That whole slipping and sliding thing that I was doing before was a result of bad tires...
• However, when (not if) you get stuck, carrying extra floormats helps a lot. Stick them under your tires and it provides enough traction to pull you out.
  
• And when (not if) there is too much snow and not enough floormats, there are always people around that are willing to help push your car down the street. And I would like to say that I didn't know this from experience. But it was before snow tires...
  
• You want the orange washer fluid. Not the blue kind. The orange kind won't freeze when (not if) it's 20 below zero. Again, I wish I could say that I didn't know this from experience...
  
• It may not look like it's snowing an awful lot, but it builds up fast. And 5 inches overnight is A LOT...
• In a parking lot, any parking spot that is on the end is totally useless. They have to put the snow somewhere after it's plowed...
  
• Cats do not like to be thrown in the snow. No matter how often London looks through the window to be let out onto the balcony, being thrown into the white stuff is not what he was expecting...
• And speaking of cats... Cats+fleece+dry weather = a lot of electricity. You can hear the crackle of the shock building up. And it's not a pleasant shock...
  

Anyway, just a few things I learned... Plus, I felt like I needed an update ;)

And now I'll leave you guys with a few pictures from Thanksgiving that I took with my computer. Gotta love a Mac. Enjoy!










-amyg

Double Double, Toil and Trouble!

I love Halloween! First, it's my mom's birthday, which is always fun. Second, it's Halloween, duh! No one makes fun of you when you dress up. In fact, if you don't dress it, you're considered weird.

I have to admit, my first Halloween in Montana has been a lot more fun than I figured it would be. It really started a couple of weeks ago, when I went with my neighbor and her son to Rocky Creek Farms, where we got to feed goats and a lamb, watch pigs get dirty in the mud, watch chickens try to escape their coop, go on a hayride, avoid mud (btw - I totally fit in with my cowboy boots. so glad I have those!), and pick out amazing pumpkins. So much fun! And then we picked up a pizza and went back to carve them. Of course, while watching How to Train Your Dragon. Loooove that movie!

Picking out white pumpkins. Who knew they existed?




My super awesome pumpkin! The pattern was actually for a cake decoration, but it worked perfectly for my little pumpkin!

So for actual Halloween, I had so many places to go! Well, I guess it was the day before Halloween. Halloween parties on Sundays just aren't as much fun...

I broke out my old 80's costume from college. It still fit, amazingly enough! I did decide to find a sweatshirt from Target and cut that up. I figured I needed the extra warmth for a Halloween up here...

I started out the night going to my neighbors' sons' fall fest at his school. A bunch of games, prizes, and food. All the kids were so cute. A ton of people dressed as cowboys, though...






I then went to my friend's house. She worked in the lab I just rotated through. She's the one dressed as Lady Gaga. I was a little out of place, since most of the people at her house were families with small babies. But I wasn't there by myself for long. My friend Oliwia showed up. She had to work all day, so she wasn't able to dress up. But she still looked cute!





Of course, as soon as a Lady Gaga song came on, we all had to start dancing! So much fun!





We decided to take one more picture before Oliwia and I left for our next party. They felt bad that they were both wearing heels, so they shrunk down and let me be the tall one, for once!

I was going to meet up with some friends and ride with them to a party at this girl-who-is-in-my-class's house. It ended up that Oliwia was going there, also, so I ended up hitching a ride with her instead, and met up with the other girls there.

The party started out in the garage. Here we have a zebra, getting eaten by a lion, Wenda (Where's Waldo's girlfriend - isn't that such a cute idea!?!) Oliwia, who by this point was going as 'Lame', a professor, or a librarian. (It varied who she was talking to), and me, in my 80's costume.

We hung out at the house party for awhile. I wish I had taken some more pictures of the costumes. People are so creative!

Some of us at the party decided we wanted to go downtown, to a bar called Eagles. It's basically a bar, but in the back is a stage with a ton of room to dance. Now, when I went to Eagles a couple of weeks ago, there was a country western band playing, and a TON of people two-steppin' or triple steppin' out on the dance floor. Last night, however, was more rock music. It was a blast! Again, I wish I had taken more pictures!

When Michael Jackson's Thriller came on, Oliwia was pushed up to the stage to 'lead' everyone in the dance. So funny! I don't think she really knew all the steps, but she's such an amazing dancer, that it really didn't matter.

All in all, a really awesome Halloween. So much fun!

Today is actual Halloween. A little rainy, but hopefully that'll dry off before kids start trick or treating. I hope a lot of kids stop by! I don't want to keep this big bag of candy around. Too much temptation...

Hope everyone's Halloween was as awesome as mine this year!

-amyg

Snow?

Eek!

It's supposed to start snowing this week! I'm so super excited! I know that at first, I will love it. But when the winter goes on, and it's still snowing, and then it's June, and it's still snowing, I might not like it as much. But I may, you never know. I just don't have that much experience with snow to be able to tell you at this point.

Since last week, all the weather stations and everyone in the lab have been saying that it will snow. However, I'm not so sure. It looks like the threat has dissipated overnight. Oh well. I'm sure there will be plenty of snow soon enough.

Anyway, I'm just that excited. But now, I need to go practice for a presentation I have to give tomorrow, and then study for my test that is on Thursday. Stressful week, I know. Thursday, 5 pm, please come soon!!!

-amyg

I realized this morning, as I was listening to my music, that I probably have 4 different versions of this song on my iPhone. I love it! And if you listen to the lyrics, you realize how uplifting they are. They just make me feel better and that anything is possible. So, here are the original lyrics from the musical. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. It's probably my favorite one...

Defying Gravity from Wicked

"Something has changed within me
Something is not the same
I'm through with playing by the rules
Of someone else's game
Too late for second-guessing
Too late to go back to sleep
It's time to trust my instincts
Close my eyes: and leap!

It's time to try
Defying gravity
I think I'll try
Defying gravity
And you can't pull me down!

I'm through accepting limits
'cause someone says they're so
Some things I cannot change
But till I try, I'll never know!
Too long I've been afraid of
Losing love I guess I've lost
Well, if that's love
It comes at much too high a cost!
I'd sooner buy
Defying gravity
Kiss me goodbye
I'm defying gravity
And you can't pull me down:

Unlimited
Together we're unlimited
Together we'll be the greatest team
There's ever been
Glinda -
Dreams, the way we planned 'em

GLINDA
If we work in tandem:

BOTH
There's no fight we cannot win
Just you and I
Defying gravity
With you and I
Defying gravity

ELPHABA
They'll never bring us down!

So if you care to find me
Look to the western sky!
As someone told me lately:
"Ev'ryone deserves the chance to fly!"
And if I'm flying solo
At least I'm flying free
To those who'd ground me
Take a message back from me
Tell them how I am
Defying gravity
I'm flying high
Defying gravity
And soon I'll match them in renown
And nobody in all of Oz
No Wizard that there is or was
Is ever gonna bring me down!"

Yeah, so I copied and pasted these lyrics from a website, then cut a few lines out. And then turned the lines I like the best green. But you get the jist. This song just makes me happy :)

Anyway, London now has a blog. Check it out: London's Tail!

-amyg

Life in Montana! (so far...)

I’m so glad y’all enjoyed ‘London’s Tail’ so much! I think London enjoyed it also ;)

Life in Montana is going great! The weather has been an absolutely beautiful recently. Last week, we were hotter than Texas! Okay, maybe that was a little hot for Montana, especially when air conditioners aren’t the norm up here. Then it wasn’t pleasant when the A/C at work, one of the few we have, went out. It wouldn’t have been bad, except in the afternoons the sun shines directly into the windows. The one time since I’ve been here that I regretted those windows. It got pretty warm. But they were able to fix it! It’s been perfect weather for riding my bike. Now that I’m getting the hang of actually riding one again, I’ve been having a lot of fun cruising through my neighborhood. With the weather like it has been, I’ve seen a lot of other people enjoying the small parks and trails around my place. It’s just now starting to cool down. In fact this weekend looks to be down right chilly!

I had my first test this week. I must say, it’s a little weird for me to be back on an undergrad campus, in an undergrad class, even though I’m taking it at a graduate level. The day before my test, I remembered that some professors in undergrad require these things called blue books. I couldn’t remember if my professor said we needed one or not. So I freaked out a little about having time to go to the campus bookstore to get one. Ends up we didn’t need it. The graduates had different tests than the undergrads, and we all just needed to write on the test. And the test? Well, it wasn’t what I expected. For my Masters, I was trained to write essays to answer questions, and have 3 hours to do so. Here, we only had an hour, and it was short answer. I think I wrote mini-essays for my answers. I don’t know how to condense something into two sentences when I’m used to explaining myself in paragraphs! Hopefully it’ll work out. And hopefully I didn’t fail. Eek! I’m nervous about getting it back. Cross your fingers that I make a decent grade!

This past weekend I had to opportunity to go hiking with my neighbor and her cute son. We had a blast! We just did a short hike to Grotto Falls, in Hyalite Canyon. It was a beautiful day, though pretty cold in the morning when we got there. It warmed up nicely, and the falls were so pretty!

My neighbor and her adorable son.

Manda also came to visit me a couple of weekends ago. I’m so glad she flew up here! We made picnic lunches, hiked a little, and just had a blast. I showed her the town and we managed to do a little shopping. We also went to Yellowstone, which was so much fun! We weren’t seeing many animals, but the few bison we did see were really close. I must admit, though, if one was close enough to get out of the car for, Manda was the one who got out. We actually ate lunch with a bison not far from us! We started driving back up north when we decided we wanted to turn around and see the Upper and Lower Falls. When we did that, we found the herds of bison. And I mean herds! And they had no problems walking in the middle of the road to hold up traffic. The funniest part was when these two bison were walking up the middle of the road between the cars. When they got close to my car, I admit I started to freak out a little. You don’t think those animals are too scary until brush up against your car. If they had turned their head, they would have hit my pretty silver car pretty badly. Let me tell you, I had my windows rolled up. I only wish I had better pictures that show how close and huge they were! But it was a pretty fun trip. Again, I’m so glad she was able to come visit me.

I don't think they follow traffic laws...

Oh no! Here he comes!!!!

WAAAAAY too close for comfort...

Upper Falls

Lower Falls

A tree I thought was pretty cool, after driving up to the top of some mountain...

Manda at Headwaters State Park. Such a climber...

On another note, I have to admit that tragedy has struck. London’s favorite bowl, given to him by my Aunt Julie and Mimi, has been broken. Apparently, my cat is also a little scientist, and he wanted to test the laws of gravity. Unfortunately, the bowl did not survive the experiment. Now he’s back to drinking out of his blue bowl, with the rubber bottom that he cannot push around. The cat also had to have a bath the other day. He was so dirty! Giving a cat a bath is not as easy at it seems. But now he is clean, though I had to suffer his glares the rest of the night. And then, to retaliate, he sat where I usually sleep on my bed, getting the whole side damp. Thank you, London….

Anyway, that’s about all that’s been going on in the life of amyg! My mom comes in tomorrow, and we plan on having an awesome weekend. I’m also planning on some home-cooking. Not to make my mom work or anything, but some homemade mom food sounds pretty good right now. I can’t wait!

-amyg

And, just something to wind up my post... I just wanted to post some things I love about living up north, here in Montana.

· I love the location! The mountains are so pretty, and the sunsets are amazing. I’m sure the sunrises are as well, but if I’m up that early, I’m already in lab working.

· The whole town supports the Bobcats, the Montana State University football team. The. Whole. Town. It’s awesome that the team is so supported! For example, the homecoming pep rally was in the middle of downtown.

· The people. Everyone is so helpful here. My neighbor and her son let me tag along when they went hiking. My lab puts up with me asking a million questions, all the time. The other new girl in our department had drinks with me and then we just hung out.

· All the available outdoor activities. I never thought I was much of an outdoor person, and I’m really not, compared to people here. But I really like to ride my bike. And there are so many easy trails around here that lead to some fascinating places. Like Grotto Falls.

· A working and regularly used downtown. The shops are pretty amazing, and the bars are pretty fun.

· On that note, the bars. A lovely place to have a drink or two with friends. They’re not like clubs with loud music, but rather a nice place to talk and meet people.

London's 'Tail' (get it?)

Hi all!

I wanted my own say on what Montana is like. Here's MY version of the move:

I was so ready to move!




Even if I liked to hide in my mom's boxes...




We had a brief stay at my mom's momma and daddy's house...




...where I teased the dog by attacking her, then running into my own safe room, where she couldn't get to me. Ha! Take that, Cabella!




On the ride up north, I liked to ride in what was left of the backseat....




....or in my mom's momma's lap. Very comfortable.




After we arrived in Bozeman, I quickly found 'my' room. Not the guest room, or mom's momma's room. MY room.





I really liked to climb on top of bookshelves....



... and knock all of my mom's pictures over.





And when she caught me that one time, I liked to hide in her freshly washed pillows. It's funny to watch her get so frustrated!




After I got this really cool bowl from Mimi and Aunt Julie, I refuse to drink my water from anywhere else. And it has to be freshly filled. On the counter. It's the only way I'll drink my water.




I really like to hide on the cabinets in the kitchen. Sometimes, it freaks my mom out when she can't find me. She should just know where I am, and what I want, at all times. Silly mom...




But I like to make my mom feel better by laying in her lap and watching tv with her, even if she still colors in coloring books...




However, I do not like it if she tries to take my picture and I'm not ready. To retaliate, I make sure to lay on her black pillows. That way, my white fur will stay all over her black pillowcase!




Sometimes, when it's warm, my mom opens the door and it lets bugs in. I like to try to catch those bugs...




...even if I let them escape behind the couch.




That's okay, because my mom still lets me lay in her lap.




Once, when she was cold, she put her sweatshirt on her legs. I know it was just for me. It was very comfortable, even if she could not move for fear of disturbing me...




And her college sweatshirt is very comfy. I like to try to wear it also. Even if she still has it on...




At night before bed, I like to lounge on the bathroom floor.




Then I make myself comfy on mom's bed, and stretch out to find my spot.




Even if it takes up most of my mom's bed...





...I can usually get pretty comfortable.

All in all, I really like living here in Montana. There are tons of stairs that I like to race up and down. And TONS of windows with awesome views. It almost makes up for the fact that my mom won't let me out. She worries about my safety. But I guess that's okay. I have to let her think that she gets her way once in awhile.

So, goodnight, Montana. Me, I'm going to relax here, on my mom's lap. The perfect place to keep warm and get comfy since the temperature suddenly dropped this afternoon. My mom is going to have to eventually turn on the heat. But for now, I am a very comfortable and spoiled kitten.

-london