Belated Valentines Gift…(Picture Heavy)

My Valentines gifts from my husband…the belated ones.  I was also given a very cute mug with a frog sitting in the mug. I collect frogs. He is my Froggie Prince Charming.

That, folks, is a Taurus PT-1911 with Gold Accents and Faux Pearl grips.  I think only a women would make the difference between faux pearl and real…LOL.  My husband told our daughter he was buying me precious metals for Valentines. She thought that was cool until she saw his version of precious metals. She is, after all, only 15. See the second gift to appease the 15 year old daughter.

It’s beautiful.  How cool and awesome is that!! I get taken to a gun show and come home with boom, bling and a t’shirt that can do it all for the well endowed.

This is a specially designed concealed carry holster t’shirt.  It is soo comfortable .  My husband bought the t’shirt that has the double holster. One side holds his firearm and the other holds extra magazines.  You can order this from the folks at GUNTEE. I originally bought the 1x which fits sizes 2x-3x.  It was too big for me.  The shirt needed to be a little more snug.  We went back to the gun show and he traded my 1x for a large. Check them out and tell them I sent you. It won’t get you a discount but he remembers me…  He hugged me when my husband’s back was turned.  They all thought he was a keeper(my husband, that is…)  Do you have any idea how funny that sounds coming from a group of men?

This is my husbands. I was using his but he decided he didn’t want to share anymore. Apparently the marriage license and the “what’s his, is mine” rule doesn’t apply to a mans gun. That and the grips are too big for my hand.  I am a paltry 5′3″ whereas the man of the house is close to 6′4.5″. (He’s shrinking.) He used this when he was on the pistol team at the Citadel.  It is 20 years old. He was there from ‘85-’89. He went by Chuck. I won’t call him “Chuck”. Ever. Never. Ever. Just thought I would tell you that….

We are a matched pair but I have the precious metals, as he puts it.

Don’t ask me why, but I did not realize just how dirty a gun gets after shooting 200 rounds. That is a lot of smoke. Guns get dirty. That means you have to clean them. In my case you have to learn.

Here are a couple pictures of my target shooting.  I had to get used to the Heine sights on the Taurus. There are some issues as to why my group is low. I could be over anticipating the recoil and pushing the gun down as I am pulling the trigger or just not sighting it properly.  This will correct itself the more I practice. My husband does not mind spending an hour or two at the range with me.  I shoot and he comes home with a soar thumb. He is getting a callous on his thumb from standing there and loading the magazines for me… He is a keeper!

If you decide to go and “throw some lead down range”, as a friend puts it, expect to get dinged once in awhile. It won’t hurt, unless it gets stuck in between your glasses and your eyebrow. It’s a wee bit warm.

Be safe if you own or are thinking of becoming a gun owner. Cornered Cat has great information especially for women who may be considering purchasing a hand gun or in my case have sat on their concealed carry permit for 12 years and refused to carry. I was concerned with my lack of proficiency in handling a firearm.  My husband has been working on correcting the lack of proficiency. I am having  a blast. (oops…no pun intended on that one) as are the kids.

There are some great sights to visit.  I mentioned Cornered Cat, which is great for information for women who wish to carry  for defense or just enjoy shooting. My husbands favorite is Law Dog. I admit to going out there occasionally and getting lost in reading his blog.  You cannot help yourself. You get sucked in to his stories. I was just out there looking for a post I thought he had written but still haven’t found the thing yet. ( I found it!! Meditations on Stopping Power by Law Dog) I will have to get hubby to help me. It was about a person who owns a firearm.  One who practices all the time and one who doesn’t. It was reading that post that made me realize why after 12 years of having a CCP, I didn’t carry. Like I said, my husband is working on that issue.

Have fun. Be safe.

In case you are wondering…My husband is qualified as an NRA Instructor…not to mention all of his practical experience.  I am in good hands.

Surprise, surprise…

….here I am again.  Today is Friday and I can tell you that I am in pain.  I have been standing so much on a concrete floor that my hips actually hurt. Along with knees and ankles.

A member of the Rescue Squad passed away. She was an still quuite young.  She was only 61.  She had contracted some type of bacterial/parasitic infection. The doctors found out it was this type of infection but were unable to identify what it was that was making her ill.  At the time of her passing she weighed only 57 lbs. She had been battling this for 8 months. It was sad for the station because she and her family were long standing members. Her daughters are quite active with the rescue squad. When I heard the news I cried for the sisters. The youngest one had only been married for a year I believe.  She is a sweet and funny young lady.  I had not really had an opportunity to get to know either of them well but we all feel the pain and loss of a parent. I was sad for the girls because they truly adored their mother. The times that are going to be very difficult for them will be the moment they find they are expecting their first child. The first holidays and birthdays.The anniversary of their loss. My heart goes out to this family.

As I sat and thought about what they were going to miss, I realized that I had all ready grieved for that loss. Over time I no longer miss these moments that daughters especially share with their mothers. The news of our pregnancies.  Being present at the birth of our children. Spending holidays together and creating lasting memories. I grieved over the loss of my mother and could empathize with these two sisters. Then there was a slight twinge of jealousy that started to creep in on my heart. Even in their grief they could still find joy.  They would still have fond memories of time spent with their mother. Happy moments.

The kicker, folk’s, is that my mother is still alive.

It has had me reflecting on what is my daughter going to think about me when I move on from this world. If she doesn’t have these fond memories of me do I still have time to create some with her.

That is enough melancholy for one day.  I have been on my feet prepping and cooking for three days. The food was an absolute hit!!!! The families favorite cake is carrot cake. Heather, you have no idea how many people came up to me today begging for that recipe!!!  Especially the icing. You are the bomb, Girl!!!

One of the sister’s can not eat any meat. It makes her sick.  You may not even use a meat base. i went out of my way to make sure, along with the other person cooking, that she would have some vegetarian dishes to choose from.

I must say, as my arm is stretching to pat myself on the back, I outdid myself. No false modesty here folks.  I came up with the most amazing spinach lasagna recipe that several people including the sister wanted the recipe. I was tickled pink. I felt bad because I really didn’t know what I could do for this family in their time of grieving. The one thing I can do is cook.  So I helped cook. It is amazing how good it makes you feel when doing something like this for someone in need. In my mind it wasn’t much…well it was alot of cooking.  In the grand scheme of things to me it was such a small thing to do. The extent everyone went to so this would be a nice repast for the family and friends was greatly appreciated.  Many comments were made as to how the dear lady who passed on would have loved this party. As is usually true with any group, there are usually only a handful that always seem to be the same people who step up to the plate to help out. It was the same ladies. It wasn’t just me but a group of us who worked together and pulled it off. Kudos to a great job to everyone who pitched in.  My kids were even delegated as helpers.

My condolences to the McCormack Family.

Of course no one believed my daughter was only 15. My 13 year old son enjoyed himself with the paramedics that were on duty while they sat in the day room. He said they were truly impressed with his vast intellect (actually he said superior intellect, I am just toning it down some.) and ability to carry on such an interesting and stimulating conversation. Yep.  That boy is just like his father but with my gift of gab.

We are off to visit a gun show tomorrow.  I may have pictures of my valentines gift tomorrow.  My husband said if we are lucky it may even have laser sighted hand grips.

I smell like burnt oil and french fries.  I am off to take a shower. Have a great weekend…I may pop back in if I have something worth showing…

Hello World…I’m new here…

That is what I feel like I should be writing. I have not wanted to write.  I consider myself a tad on the boring side here lately. I am not always boring.  Something always seems to happen to me. I also figured there was nothing really worth telling.

My sister had her bum operated on. It was a little more than that though and I really should not make light of it.  Hemorroids are a nasty blight to the pregnant women. Apparently hers were such that they also had to perform plastic surgery on her…um…bum. Too much loose skin was the reason my other sister gave…How can anyone possibly say this and keep a straight face?! I really shouldn’t say anymore because I am about to get myself in a whole heep of trouble. My other sister di say she had to …um…check down there for the one who had the surgery.  Well….it looks like a …bum.

My other sister had to have surgery.  Nothing particularly funny about hers though. Well…there was one comment made that I know absolutely thrilled her since everyone is always mistaking her for being the oldest and me the younger of the two.  The volunteer never even looked up.  How would she know if my sister walked in with a friend, sister or motherly type?! She would not have known! She looks at my sister and asks, “Is this your mother with you today?” I promptly set the women straight.  I informed her that no, I was the sister.  We found a seat and my sis turns to me and has the temerity to reply (Don’t forget the ear to splitting ear grin on her face. I know you can picture it!) “Wow! I must look really young today?” My reply? “Hrrump! That or I am looking really old today!” In my defense, I had not gotten any sleep that night.  I know I looked rough. The teenager in the house had one of those annoying fake programmable babies that the school must have programmed on hard and colicky!! I swear that thing was up crying every hour…on the hour…I am sure of it!! My sister did look up at me from her gurney after she had been prepped for surgery, and said “Thank you. You always get stuck with the yucky jobs.” Warm moment here folks….Aaahhhhhh. I think I will beg to differ on that one.