Monty Had a Friend Over...and Other Tales

These are some pictures from last week that I've been meaning to post. Adam's and my friend Brock visited, and he brought his dog, Sampson. Monty and Sampson got along fabulously except that little Sampson (a miniature dachshund) kicked Monty's butt/pushed him around the whole time. Check out the second pic, in which Sampson has not only Monty's bone but his bed, too, and all Monty can do is look on :)

Over the weekend I was able to see my friends Natasha, Natalie and Gina. We were planning on going camping, but with the questionable weather we decided on this charming little cabin (Natalie's family owns it) in the middle of nowhere. We had a really great time. I absolutely love getting somewhere totally quiet except for the sounds of nature, a place that requires candles at night and trips to an outhouse and early bedtime. I always feel so much more at peace with myself, and I appreciate the world and those in it a lot more, I think.

Here's a really cheesy, posed picture of our Yahtzee game. We had a lot of fun, though, especially because we created little dances for the different categories, like the Large Straight Dance and the Full House Dance.


The joke here, though you can't see it, is that Natalie is pouring a third or fourth serving of wine into my Lutheran Church mug.


Shortly after we arrived at the cabin, we went for a hike through the woods. There was barely a trail, which was challenging and made me feel like I was in a completely different world. I loved it.

This is a shot I got with my camera's macro setting. Not quite the calibur of many of my friends' work, but I am happy with it. Seeing the photographs that my friends take inspires me to get out my dad's old Minolta. It has some great lenses and a lot of potential, so at least now it's downstairs instead of in a box in the attic.

On a side note, I had so many crazy dreams last night. I'm on a medication with two main side effects: insomnia and vivid dreams/nightmares. Fantastic. So first I can't get to sleep, and then when I finally do I'm struggling all night long. I guess it's good that my brain is processing stuff and trying to allow me to start fresh the next day, but wow. Last night I actually had to pull myself out of a really bad nightmare, and I had to wake Adam to make sure he was okay. I don't remember the last time I had to wake myself up because I had something too horrible in my head. I really dislike medications.

It feels good to write some of my thoughts down instead of just captions for pictures. I think I've been going a little overboard on the pictures lately...!

I hope everyone is having a good Monday :)