The questions…
Here goes…
What’s your name?
Tobi: Tobi Katherine Kirsch
Emily: woo hoo! I didn’t know your middle name, and it’s lovely.
How would you identify yourself to someone who doesn’t know you?
Tobi: Identify? Hmm, well I mostly identify as a crazy person but I guess that’s what is most intriguing about me to others. Why wouldn’t you want to hang out with a crazy person? It is guaranteed to always be a good time.
Emily: TRUTH ^^Tobi and I met at the bus stop when our boys started kindergarten. I remember that I specifically went to the bus stop with Finley with the distinct goal of meeting new friends. And I did! It worked! It helped that Tobi and I both loved bourbon, but there were other lovely people at that bus stop who I keep in touch with to this day.
Selling it all and leaving Seattle 🙁
We met here in the Seattle area, and then you just up and LEFT ME to move to Montana. Rude. But seriously, you did what many people would like to do. You sold everything and moved and then started fresh somewhere new. Has the fresh start in Bozeman been all you hoped it would be?
Tobi: First of all, I am sooo sorry for ‘ditching’ you! I miss you immensely!
It really was the most freeing, exciting feeling to sell allll the poop and just GO. I will never regret that decision. Bozeman has been the best place to be during this pandemic shit show for sure.
I love the opportunities here for friends, experiences, and general lifestyle. Most of all, I will forever be grateful for the way my, now teenager, gets to grow up and the opportunities that he has here to live a fun filled life.
Emily: You have the most amazing pictures of Owen mountain biking and hiking and skiing… so clearly he’s in his element. That is really great.
Do you think you’ll stay in Montana for the long-term?
Tobi: Yes, pretty sure I will die here…..probably doing something stupid, haha.
Emily: Wow! I’m happy for you and sad for us, but I think I knew you’d never move back here. The prices here are insane; this city (Seattle) has exploded.
What I always appreciated about you was that you just opened your arms and welcomed us (the Meadows) in, like family. You may not realize it, but you are a people-attracter. Does that make sense? You just say – GET OVER HERE, and people listen. I admire that about you and I am trying my darndest to emulate you. Your family became my family. Have you always been that way? What is your secret?
Tobi: Your family will always be our family. You and your kids are something special for sure. As far as I know, I have always been this way, haha. ‘My’ house was always open! Pretty sure I drove my parents crazy. There were always extra kids at our house, eating our food and generally moving in for a while (I had a lot of friends whose parents weren’t around much). I love having guests to this day. It doesn’t stress me out having extra people around it actually kind of energizes me.
I don’t know if there is an actual secret to being this way. It’s just how I am. I find most people really want to be part of something….anything. They want to tell their stories and connect. I enjoy making that happen.
Emily: Okay, that’s deep.
Tobi: While I LOVE having people around me all the time I am pretty picky about the people that get to stay.
Emily: In a weird way, the pandemic forced me to open my house… to the other family in our learning pod, and to our ‘tutor,’ etc. I have been attempting to keep the front door unlocked and I care way less about how clean my house is. It has been freeing.
It helped me to understand that people may judge that my house is pure chaos but if so – that’s on them, not on me. And really? I don’t think they judge. They are just happy to be included … TO YOUR POINT.
Sugaring 101
When you lived here, you were a badass small business owner, and you ran your own sugaring business/spa. You must have seen SO MANY VULVAS when you were in your sugaring prime, no?
Tobi: OMG! Sooo many vaginas and ball sacks! Honestly, between the operating room and the skincare it’s a real thing. HAHAHAHA
Emily: OMG the ball sacks reference just made me laugh out loud. You never saw my bits, and that’s just a shame. I was a terrible friend – I never once got sugared and haven’t waxed/sugared my bits TO THIS DAY. It’s just me with my razor, and I’m fine with it.
Tobi: You weren’t a terrible friend! Razors are a choice….just one I choose to never make again.
Any stories from when you sugared all of the people of Seattle? Did you ever have a body that the sugar just couldn’t fix?
Tobi: Oh lord, the stories! I think one of my favorites was this 61 year old woman who came in for a Brazilian one morning. It was an ‘emergency.’ Long story short, she had been in a car accident the year prior, and spent several months recovering from it. After she recovered she had an ‘awakening’. She divorced her husband, moved to Washington and started dating again. About a month into dating she met her ‘DADDY,’ and when I say daddy I don’t mean father, and she found her new passion. They were on their way to the east coast to teach classes on spanking at a national S&M conference. I DIED! And, I had SOOO many questions. Believe me I asked them all, it was amazing to me.
Emily: THIS IS AMAZING. I can only imagine how wild that conference was. The leather, the whips, the leashes. I would have paid to work at the conference center or hotel to watch it all go down. Bwa ha ha.
Do you still sometimes mix up your own sugar mix, and take your own hair off of your own self?
Tobi: I sugar EVERYTHING on my body (except my arms cause they break out in hives…BAD) I do not however make my own sugar, it is a pain in the ass to make and I don’t have that kind of patience. So I buy it!
Emily: I figured!
Life in Montana
What keeps you busy in Bozeman?
Tobi: Everything! On literally any given day I will be hiking, biking, paddle boarding (miss you for this), fighting off bears and mountain lions, walking the dog, going to the gym, staring out my windows at our amazing view, and day drinking…..LOTS of day drinking.
This works well here since the majority of my friends either don’t work, work for themselves or have very flexible schedules. We are professionals so don’t try this at home!
(Side Note: I do miss myself some culture. I heard some Mexican music the other day and was like ‘damn, it’s been a while.’ haha)
Emily: Girl, we have all been inside for a year so even those of us who live in more diverse areas are starved for culture. I can only stare at my goddamned pets for so long. But I hear you, and that life (day drinking, gym, outdoor activities) sounds amazing and right up your alley.
I miss you girl. I will get my ass to your new house in 2021, I promise.
Tobi: You better get your ass out here. I miss you as well! We have lots of room and lots of fun to be had by all. See you soon!
Emily: Mwah.