Guns to Carry

There is a lot of talk going on among my friends and every where else about buying guns. All types of guns - home protection, a concealment weapon and of course hunting guns. Have you bought a gun lately?

Last year about this time, I purchased my first gun. A Taurus .38 special with a laser grip. It was purchased for a protection weapon and a gun of my own to take to the range to shoot. I enjoy shooting it. Especially using the laser when I shoot the zombies targets. I point the laser right on the head of the zombie...lol. However, I feel that it is a little to heavy to carry in my purse. I do have a holster but I feel that it is a bit awkward to use all the time. Also without a jacket or large sweatshirt, I can't conceal it well.

So I decided to get a litter 9mm. I bought a Taurus slim 9mm.  Hubby got me a pink handle grip for Valentine's day.

Now this was a hard decision for me. Hubby wanted me to make the decision all on my own. Going into the gun shop, I was dead set on purchasing a Beretta Nano.

 I liked it but it was a bit heavier than the Taurus. The handle was also a bit chunkier for my little hands. But it was smooth and pretty. Then I saw the Taurus. It was a bit lighter than the Nano and was slimmer. My hand fit around the handle better. But I still wanted the Beretta. It is an American made gun. As I handle each gun more, I realized there was no safety other than the trigger on the Nano. That made me got nervous. What if something got wrapped around the trigger and the gun went off or god forbid, my child was in my purse and pulled the trigger. So eventually I realized that I was going to have to give up on the Nano and purchase the Taurus. I am more comfortable knowing there is a safety and the longer trigger pull.

I have not shot it much yet (it's been cold & rainy here on the weekends), but I like how much lighter the 9mm is than my .38. I carried the gun for the first time this pass weekend and I was completely comfortable and happy to know I was carrying. I don't get to carry my gun everyday, because I work on a college campus. I will start putting it in my purse on Friday evenings when I get home.

Do you have a gun that you carry? What is your favorite gun to carry?

Bringing the Outdoors in...

Do you incorporate your love for the outdoors in everything you do?
How about bringing the outdoors in with a cake?

I have recently come across some fun cakes that vividly represent the outdoors. The first cake I think about when I think about cakes that have an outdoor them is our wedding cake.

It is a tree stump with our initials & a heart around them, carved into the tree stump. We loved it! Our wedding was a few years before I even thought about hunting and how much I would actually like it. Otherwise, I think we might have went with something like this one:

Here are some other cakes that brought the outdoors in:

 I think this one should be my brothers next birthday cake. He loves bass fishing.

This would be a great cake for a couple that likes to duck hunt.

I am torn between this and the next one, on which on should be my husband's next birthday cake. We like to archery and gun hunt. (Last year hubby had a Cleveland Browns cake for the party that was during the Browns game. No razzing about the Browns please.)

 This last cake is just amazing. I can't believe how good it looks. I wonder how long it took the baker to make it. And just frost it?

I am not a baker so I would need to have someone else make any of these cakes. I am also to impatient. :)

I'd love to see pictures of the cakes you all have had that brought the outdoors in...

Valentine's Day....

Valentine's Day is just around the corner. Have you started thinking about what your are going to get your sweetheart this year?

I have. There are a few ideas swirling around in my head. Hubby will not get all of these ideas but I'll decide on one or two of them. So let me get right to it.

Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm

Extra clips for his other gun.

Bullets and targets are always a good gift!

Even though I am a Sabres fan, I would buy a Penguins jersey for hubby.

This is just a great lil gift for any gun enthusiast, ice cube bullet trays.

Now for some gift ideas I would enjoy opening on Valentine's Day. Jewelry is always a good gift for me.

I've been eyeing this jewelry for a couple weeks now. I love my 20 guage dangle earrings that I got for Christmas from Spent Rounds Designs.

I am going to need a new pair of sunglasses for boating season. So Valentine's Day would be a perfect time to get a new pair.

Since I did not get a watch at Christmas time, I still would like a "Boyfriend" watch. And my last wish list item is

a Beretta Nano 9mm. But I will probably have to wait until our tax return to get this.

While all of these gift ideas are exciting and great, all I really want to do is enjoy a dinner out with my Valentine. And some snuggle time with hubby. So if I get none of these, I will be fine. I won't be heartbroken. For me Valentine's Day is about spending time with your loved ones. Yes, we should not need a day on the calendar to make time for hubby and I, but it is a day we do try to make sure we get a date night out of.

I hope everyone has a nice Valentine's Day, however you choose to celebrate love.

Ice Fishing...Yay or Nay

It has finally gotten cold enough and staying cold for ice to form on the lakes and be safe to be on. My hubby is ecstatic!  Last winter was so mild in our area, hubby only got to go ice fishing once. He has been able to go twice this year and is hoping to go again this weekend.

Hubby and a few of his buddies go to a couple of tournaments a year. At the end of February there is an ice fishing tournament scheduled at a local lake. I believe this is the only tournament he is planning to go to this year.  The weather has to stay cold for a few more weeks for the lake to be ready for the tournament. Hopefully it will, we need more fish for the freezer. He has asked my brother to come down and join in the fun this year. My brother, Jimmy, is a big fisherman but he doesn't do to much ice fishing. So, Hubby will be even more excited about the tournament if my brother comes down.

 (Hubby's catch from a tournament a few years ago.)

As for me, I like to fish but I really have no desire to go out on a frozen lake to fish. Even if the ice hut is nice and toasty warm, I don't want to be on the ice. I also don't want to be running around on the ice checking all the tip ups. I guess you could say I have a fear of the ice. I don't really have a reason to be scared. I have not had an experience (good or bad) with ice fishing. Ironically, I think fish caught during ice fishing season tastes way better and not as fishy than when the fish is caught during the rest of the year. I think the cold water just makes them taste better. But I am just to scared to go out on the ice. I know that my husband would never be on the ice if it wasn't safe, let alone take me out on ice that was not safe. Hubby used to ask me to go with him and try to entice me with how warm the ice hut will be. Since I have declared several times that I don't want to go, he makes ice fishing a time to hang with his buddies. Along with going to tournaments, hubby and his buddies pack up the ice hut, fishing gear, chairs, buddy heater, venison and the camp stove and the spend the night on the ice fishing. I think that it is great! I get to have a night with G-man or go out with my girlfriends. It's our relax and re-boot time.

So what about G-man. When hubby mentions going fishing of any kind, he is right there asking "can I go with you daddy?"  Hubby does want to take him ice fishing. I don't want to deprive G-man of time with his dad, but I am nervous. And I NEVER want to discourage him from being outside and being a sportsman. I am sure I am just projecting my fear of the ice onto the situation, but I can't help it. Obviously, ice fishing is safe since it has been going on for decades. We have friends that take their children with them when they go ice fishing. So the question is - Do I let G-man go out ice fishing with his dad? I probably will let him, but I will be worried the entire time. This weekend could be the first time that G-man will get to go ice fishing. So I'll comment to let you know how it went and how I did.

If it is could enough where you are, get out and do some ice fishing.
Good luck & be careful.

Bucket list

Do you have a bucket list of hunts? Since I "caught the hunting bug" I have been thinking about what my dream hunt/hunts would be. My ultimate was easy to figure out...

Moose hunt

After that I had to think about. After watching my favorite show on the Outdoor Channel is The Crush, so next on my bucket list would be to hunt mature bucks in Iowa with Lee & Tiffany.

Even though the thought of a bear hunt frighten's me (I'm scared of bears), I would like to shoot one and have a bear rug made. I would like to shoot a cinnamon black bear.

And recently my brother has peaked my interest in goose hunting. I would like to experience what it is like to  lay in the field in a blind and shooting something out of the air. Shooting one after another and even possibly getting more than one goose with one shot. (My brother shot 3 in one shot this winter.)

Recently hog hunting has been on my radar. I have been reading a lot about hog hunts. They intrigue me. So I think I would like to put a hog hunt on my bucket list.

So this is my hunting bucket list. I suspect that it will evolve and grow as I grow and evolve as a huntress.

Game Dinner

Yesterday we had a game dinner and target practice at the archery club. It was a family event so the kids were having fun shoot their bows too.

The adults were doing a little shooting, but mostly help the children shoot better.

There was plenty to eat at our game dinner. There was bluegill fish fry, deep fried turkey, venison bologna, moose meatballs, venison sausage and kraut, and some delish desserts. 

We had a good fellowship and great food. 

I hope to see more members at our summer picnic. I also hope that next years game dinner there will be some new game meat to try.

Thank you everyone for attending.

Sage...the puppy...house training

Our beagle pup is now 5 months old. She is a handful at times. I guess any puppy is at this age.

Sage the CatDog...lol

We are still working on house training. For some reason she likes to do her business under out kitchen table. Then there are the random "hey I have to pee so I'm gonna right here" times. It is getting very frustrating. It has been a while since I had to train a puppy. Our lab was my hubby's before we got married so he took care of all the puppy business.

She is a chewer. And she LOVES to find G-man's toys and chew on them. This morning it was his Spiderman watch that he got at Christmas. That was a meltdown moment for him. So he is learning that he has to be more careful with his toys and make sure to pick up. Mommy & Daddy are learning to be more strict about picking up toys also.

G-man has a love/hate relationship with Sage. He loves her and wants to play with her, pet her, and tug on her. Then he doesn't like her when she plays rough and bites back.  A constant battle in my life now.
 Boys and their puppies.

Recently G-man has talked about how he misses Remi our lab. It was a sad day when Remi died. He was a good dog and we all miss him.

Sage is definitely apart of our family now.