Facts: All Sorts of Updated Goodness

Fact: today was National Hug Day, or something like that.

Fact: that has nothing to do with what I'm going to blog about.

Fact: I'm about to give you all kinds of updates on le blog.

I have both good news and bad news to catch you all up on. Let's start with the good news, because if we were going alphabetically we should start with bad news since B comes before G, but I'm feeling rebellious right now and I feel like starting off in the middle of the alphabet with G, the good news.

Good news:

I put my Valentine's Day decorations up:

In case anyone's keeping track, it's not yet February, which means I'm ahead of schedule, which also means pigs must be flying somewhere.

-I finally met...er virtually, that is, my blog bff Mosby from Simplicity is Key!

It was the first time I've video chatted with anyone from blogland. 

It's true, Mosby stole my blog-friend-turned-video-chatting-friend V Card. 

She's a frisky lady, what can I say? ;)

I can also now confidently say that I'm not being catfished, and Mosby's not a creepy, wrinkled old man whose real name is Arthur and has a pet ferret. 

So that was good news.

I hate talking on the phone because I'm always terrified of awkward silences, so the idea of video chatting had me a little nervous, I can't lie. Cause if you run into an awkward silence while you're video chatting, you're just sitting there looking at each other which just makes for even more awkwardness, and ain't nobody got time for that. Fortunately we didn't have such an encounter and she is just as fabulous via talking to each other as she is texting each other! I got to meet her little kitty Brutus and she got to meet Maycee and Gunther and the whole thing just went smashingly! 

Can't wait to do it again! 

-I got my learn on last weekend, and was able to tour the new Mormon Temple being built here in AZ with a couple of our best friends

I don't know much about Temple building in the LDS faith so it was a really neat learning experience, and the inside of it is was so grand, and elaborate. It was pretty cool. 

-Nate and I went bird hunting, and while we didn't kill any quail, I did think of this awesome hashtag: #allfailnoquail. Cause nobody killed any quails, so everyone failed, no quail...it's probably not a good sign if you have to explain your hashtags right??

Also, if you're on the east coast right now, buried under two feet of snow, you can't be mad at me for what you're about to see ok?

And don't worry, you can rub it in my face this summer when you're outdoors gallivanting around enjoying yourself and I'm laying inside on my tile floor with no clothes on trying to cool down from the 120 heat. So it's fair. 

And now for the Bad news:

This happened:

You guessed it, another car accident. For those of you keeping track, that's two car accidents in four months, and I've only had my car back since October, the last time it was repaired from my accident. Nate and I were driving home from work and the guy behind us wasn't paying attention when traffic slowed down, and plowed into us at 50-60mph. 

Remember when I told you about the last accident I was in, and how it wasn't my fault, but rather my alter ego?? I've changed my mind. It's this car.

It's bad ju ju.

I go my whole life, 26 years with no accidents, no tickets, nothing, then all of a sudden I buy this car and bam - two accidents in four months. I'm not happy.

But I am happy about the fact that both you, the reader, and this blog are now up to date. It's like that feeling you get when you clear all your notifications off your phone, and get rid of all those red bubbles that drive you crazy telling you how many emails you have to read...just me??

And on that note, I will bid you all adieu....

The Fit Heard 'Round the Canyon, and Other Lessons in Hunting

If you follow me on Insta you know I went hunting this weekend for my first rifle deer tag. My husband took me down to southern AZ to see if I couldn't kill a buck.

Breaking news: I didn't kill a buck.

In fact, I never even saw one (insert sad emoji here). 

We saw 30+ does.

Nate killed a coyote at 400+ yards (cause he's kind of a bad @$$).

But me?

Nothin.

Nate found a buck Sunday morning and got me set up on it, but I couldn't find it in my scope before he moved over the top of the next canyon.

And that's about as close as I came to any action.

It's OK though, cause we still had a good time and got to spend the weekend together.

We also learned some more important lessons when it comes to hunting with 

your spouse.

If you remember, back in August when I tried to fill my archery tag, I reported the 

tell-tale signs of how you know you're on a hunt with your wife. 

Folks, the lessons kept on comin' last weekend.

For example, I learned that you shouldn't set your brand new rifle down on the ground cause the barrel will get all scratched and you'll get reprimanded by your husband.

You set your pack down first, then set your rifle on top of that.

Everyone knows that (including me........now).

Nate learned that his wife needs to take pictures of the pretty trees before she can help unload the truck upon arrival.

In my defense, it's the only glimpse of "fall" I've seen in AZ since "fall" began.

Nate also learned that he may need to tell his wife twice when there's a potential shot opportunity.

 "Deer!! Hurry up, get your rifle!!"

"Who ME??"

"You're the only one with a rifle aren't you??"

Right.

I learned that since I'm the only one with a rifle, and a tag too for that matter, that when my husband says "get your rifle," he's talking to me. 

Noted.

Nate however, learned the most important lesson of the weekend:

I hate hiking.

Guys, I'm not talking about just plan ol' hiking. 

I hike. I typically enjoy it.

Nate's version of hiking, if you can even call it that, is other-wordly.

It's scaling the side of a steep mountain, with no established trail, trekking through dead grass and Yucca plants as tall as I am, all while trying to avoid the cacti beneath your feet and trying not to twist your ankle on the lose rocks that you can't even see because of the thick brush.

And then there's really no other way to get back down the mountain except to sit down on your butt and slide down. 

All the way down.

When I tell the story out loud he always interrupts me and tells me I'm being dramatic.

But since this is my blog and he can't chime in, I would just like to say, for the record...I'm not even being dramatic.

I'm so serious that I actually stopped and I threw a fit right there on the side of the mountain.

He thought I was joking at first and started laughing.

Then he looked around and gave me the "shush" signal cause I was gonna scare away all the deer.

Guess what? I didn't even care. I was seeing red.

Questions came out of my mouth like,

"Where the hell are you taking me??"

"How the hell am I supposed to get down from here??"

And I made threats like,

"Don't ever do this to me again!"

"Don't ever take me this way again!"

And guess what? I have no shame.

The fit heard 'round the canyon is totally and completely justified, because that kind of "hiking" is ridiculous.

And my husband is crazy for thinking I'd be down for that.

I've done it twice before, on two javelina hunts, but I just wasn't havin' it this 

time around.

...And then we hiked back to the truck in silence.

And the next day we sat at a water hole for 3 hours.

Sooooo, I mean, I don't endorse throwing fits to get what you want; in fact, fits aren't even really my style (unless of course, it's a first world fit), but it was my hunt, and Nate told me I call the shots...so I'd say the fit heard 'round the canyon was pretty effective.

Score one for me.

8 Ways You Know You're on a Hunt With Your Wife

This weekend was a good one.

Wanna know why?

Cause I went on my first ever deer hunt.

My first ever archery deer hunt...there's a two-fer if I ever heard one.

I didn't kill anything, though. ...which would've made the weekend even better.

But I think my mom is happy about it - that I didn't "kill Bambi."

Thanks mom. Thanks for wishing failure upon me.

Even though I didn't kill anything, I saw six bucks and 2 does (the plural of "doe,"...don't worry I googled it) between Saturday and Sunday, and as long as I see an animal or two, and know there out there somehwere, I can't even be mad about not killing one.

I'm still a newb at this hunting/archery thing, so I didn't have high expectations for myself.

I just enjoyed the weekend with my husband in the great outdoors.

...Speaking of my husband.

Like I said, this whole hunting thing is still pretty new for me. So, likewise, having me around on a hunt is new for Nate too. 

That said...

You know you're hunting with your wife when...  

-You have to hike slower.

A lot slower.

-The noise coming from the ground blind is louder and more frequent.

...I just can't sit still for three hours straight.

I just can't.

-It takes longer to describe where the deer are when you find 'em in your binoculars

"Where? I don't see them. Where did you say? I still don't see them." 

-You have to take pictures...often...cause your wife's a blogger.

...and if you don't, she will.

...picture taking is really hard when you're in a camp full of men.

Men just don't appreciate picture taking the way women do.

-It takes 3-4 alarms before you're up and ready to go in the morning

...5am is freakin' earlllly for a weekend

-You have to hear about how "cute" the "little" does are

-There's pink in your camo bin

-You have to keep using the Scent-Away cause your wife keeps putting on 

lip gloss and hand lotion - which naturally, smells much too human

And there you have it.

I asked Nate if he regretted taking me with him this weekend, and he said 

"No. I just know I need to change my tactics a little now."

Thanks for putting that softly.

'preciate it.

My Weekend, and Living Room Surveillance

My first instinct, as I sit down to write this post is to be like, "Sorry folks, it's been a few days since I've blogged," but really, I'd hate to start out a blog post that way... cause I hate it when other bloggers start their posts out that way.

Don't apologize for being MIA in blogland.

It just means you've been out, living your life.

And I'm happy for you.

Go girl. Keep living your life. 

And get back to me (i.e. blogland) whenever your little heart desires.

So anyway, I meant to sit down Sunday night and tell you (via blog post) all about my weekend, and how my mom and I went and saw Hairspray at the local theatre. 

...and how it was just so fun and full of awesome-ness that we never stopped dancing in our seats.

...and how we went to Postino's before the show and enjoyed a Bellini (or three) and some Bruschetta that was absolutely amazeballs. 

...and how it was a pretty fantastic Friday night.

...but I ended up going grocery shopping instead. You know, cause Sunday's are for grocery shopping.

And then I was gonna post about my weekend on Monday night, but then my favorite baseball team started making a comeback in the 8th and 9th innings and I got distracted.

So here we are on Tuesday and I've already inadvertently told you about my Friday night. 

So Saturday Nate and I loaded up the quad (and when I say "Nate and I," I really mean just Nate) and drove up north to buzz around, do some shooting, and check some Trail Cams he set out.

Turkey tracks!

I came to this realization long ago, but it was glaringly obvious to me this weekend that my husband is so much cooler than me.

There's just no getting around it.

On another note, if you're unfamiliar with what a Trail Cam is (or 'Game Camera'), or their purpose -  basically, a hunter can attach a camera to a tree that is motion censored and thus, takes a picture every time something moves...namely animals. The idea is that the hunter can see if the animal they're hunting frequents their spot often enough.

Personally, I love to photobomb Nate's cameras.

It brings me great joy.

For example:

Anyway, this weekend we were hoping for some deer on his camera, but unfortunately got nada.

There were, however, a few bears.

Whenever I look at pictures from his Trail Cams I kind of feel as if I'm conducting surveillance on the wilderness.

On that note, speaking of surveillance (that was a pretty slick transition, no?)...last week we came home from work to a bunch of stuff chewed up and strewn about all over the living room. 

Not cool dogs, not cool. 

So what do you do when your dogs are behaving badly while you're gone all day at work?

You spy on them.

Via Trail Cam.

The good news is, no inanimate objects came to life a la Toy Story. 

That would've confirmed all my childhood fears. So I'm glad we avoided that.

The other good news is we found the culprit.

The photographic evidence doesn't prove it yet, but I just know it was a team effort, even though it was Maycee who was caught on camera.

Beyond behaving badly, the photos were pretty much what I expected for a typical day in the life of a dog...or two:

Bark

Hang out

Keep an eye out for marauders 

And of course this is Nate's, "Maycee, did you do this??" lecture after we got home.

So anyway, I started this post off telling you about my weekend and somehow took a left turn about how we set up cameras in the living room to catch the dogs being bad.

...Good thing school is over and I'm not being graded on the cohesiveness of this post.

Happy Tuesday folks!