My mom and I took Rush on his first ever gondola ride. He was scared but brave, holding onto his to-go coffee cup full of Froot Loops, his favorite toy of the day. I filled it for him at the hotel breakfast and he marched around, shaking it in sync with his stomps and presumably waking anyone still asleep in the hotel ( Read more... )

I spent most of my birthday entertaining my toddler nephew, so it was a typical day for someone turning 41-bike park, playground, splash pad. He’s two years old, which means that when he isn’t happy, he is blind with rage. I let him pick out everything he wanted from the hotel breakfast buffet and he was still like, “What is this GARBAGE?” Later, ( Read more... )

On my recent birthday, I was at a hotel breakfast with my parents, showing them the video my big sister had sent of my niblings chaotically singing happy birthday. I tried to play it quietly, as it was around six a.m. But I was not quiet enough. A hotel employee named Jeremy-picture an Idaho version of Hagrid-charged over and bellowed, “BIRTHDAY?! ( Read more... )

As I prepared to head to my coffeeshop date with British Guy, Bridget asked my two-year-old nephew, “What advice do you have for the guys Aunt Mandy is dating?” He paused, then said confidently, “Cars ( Read more... )

Yesterday‘s dinner date with Croissant Guy was at Revelry, but there was little reveling. For one thing, the restaurant betrayed me by adding chili oil, chili flakes, jalapeños, and/or hot honey to everything on the menu. I tried to order an entrée minus the chili flakes and the waitress said, “Okay, but they’ll still put chili oil on it.” Why are ( Read more... )

Brit and I went on an Extreme History Project tour called “Murders, Madams, & Mediums: Bozeman’s Dark Side.” We trotted along behind the tour guide while bar-hoppers stared and called out, “Aww, they’re on a field trip.” They obviously assumed we were all tourists. I wanted to yell, “I live in Bozeman, I JUST LIKE LEARNING!” I wisely deduced that ( Read more... )

This full throttle dating is having an unforeseen consequence: I am forgetting the guys’ names. Sometimes while actually on dates with them. I’ve grown too accustomed to assigning them a codename (i.e., Mustache Guy, Croissant Guy, Mr. Clean). Twice now, I’ve turned to say goodbye to a date and blanked on his name, so I just gave a cheery wave and ( Read more... )

My lunch break date at Mukai was probably the best first date I’ve had. I’m not saying there were any sparks or love at first sight nonsense. But we sat in comfy armchairs and had comfy conversation, and my first dates are NEVER comfy, so this first date wins first place. I plan to see him again, but that’s not going to keep me from roasting him in ( Read more... )

Heidi and I drove through Montana’s smoky haze to check out White Sulphur Springs. It’s a little sneeze of a town that you can drive through in 30 seconds. Each time we walked down the main strip, an old man grumbled, “Sure hope someone buys one of my walking sticks.” The houses sometimes appeared to be ruins or just thoroughly haunted. There was a ( Read more... )

I met up with a British guy for a first date after work yesterday, so of course we went for tea. I made sure to show that I know how to speak British by using words like “brilliant,” “quite,” and “rubbish.” I couldn’t figure out how to slip my favorite one, “clever clogs,” into the conversation, though. I’ll have to save it for the second date ( Read more... )