Hunting

I love the hunting experience, but I hate the cold. The thrill of the chase gets my adrenaline pumping which helps fend off the biting cold, but it still doesn't get rid of it. However, my love for the sport overrides my body's hate for the cold. There's not another feeling like the one you get just before you pull the trigger. You spot that deer, lift your gun, switch off safety, and aim for the kill. Your eyes, ears, and mind are centered on that one animal and nothing else matters. Paying your bills, family affairs, and homework never cross your mind. It's like you're in a whole other world that only includes you and your prey. And then the loud BANG! disrupts your silent reverie. The deer goes down while heart rate speeds up. The downed deer is found and the excitement ends as quickly as it came.

Good Courteous Drivers: Is that too much to ask?

Is it too much to ask for people to be good courteous drivers? All I want is for people to not be reckless and endanger others' lives and to have some common courtesy for other drivers. All I want is for them to stay in their own lanes and when changing lanes to use their blinker and look before changing. All I want is for them to go the speed limit; if they must go faster then they can surely wait for a passing zone or lane and wait their turn when in a line of people; if they must go slower then they can surely move over in passing lanes and not speed up when others try to pass them. All I want is for people to read and follow traffic signs like stopping, yielding, or road construction signs. All I want is for people to follow traffic laws like using a blinker and not tailgating. All I want is for people to not be stupid when driving through construction and if they just can't figure it out, pull over and let somebody else lead the way. Is that too much to ask? Are good courteous drivers just few and far between? I hope not.

Football

Sweat even in freezing weather...pads crashing into each...shrill whistles...protests from the crowd and teams at bad referree calls...loud cheers from fans...greasy concession stand food...and you can't forget football butts. Oh the memories of football games. As a sixth grader I wanted to play on the footbal team, but my mom refused to allow it due to my general lack of size and the fact that I could not change my gender...or how the other gender acted for that matter (smacking each others butts for instance). So I was made to watch from afar, which after awhile I decided was okay. Who wants to be crushed on the field in front of a crowd of people wearing heavy gear that bared your arms, legs, and face to the frigid wind? I decided not me. But I do find football games entertaining in person as long as I know the team. What's the fun in watching a team you know nothing about? Who do you cheer for? That was my initial problem with NFL.That and it's on TV and not in person. I don't mind it so much anymore because I have a chosen team (the Patriots if you must know), other teams that I don't mind (like the Cowboys and Packers), and those that I really hate (like the Raiders and the Broncos). If they aren't any of the teams I care about I don't watch. I would love to have football watching parties at my house (with my husband and his buddies) if we had TV and I don't mind watching games every once in a while, but I'm definitely not one of those freaks about football that does fantasy football or has to be in front of the TV for every game. In fact, I haven't kept up on my own team this year....it's quite sad. Maybe I should start again. It is fun. Maybe. We'll see.

Coughing

Coughing....it never ends. I've been sick for over two weeks and had this dreadful cough for over half of the time. Just when I think it's gone I get up to do something and BAM....the cough is back. I cough and cough and cough until I can't breathe. I cough so much my stomach and chest hurt. I just want it to go away for good. Will it ever end?

Sweeping it Under the Rug

I can't believe I forgot to blog again. It's not even because I don't like to blog, because in all honesty, I love it. I love writing, but I never seem to make enough time for it. I always seem to have something better to do. I get too wrapped up in what is going on around me to even think about sitting down to write about it. When I do think about it I feel like it is work that can be done later which is most definitely not true. I always feel better after writing so why do I always sweep it under the rag like a bad habit? There is absolutely nothing wrong with writing, but for so many years it has seemed to be the bane of my existence. Between the papers, essays, and projects I forget about the personal reasons for writing. I like it, I like seeing my writing and rereading it. I like when others compliment my writing. I love getting my feelings out in writing. But I always seem to forget to turn to it when I need it. I always forget it's there or try to play ignorant and act as if it won't help. No more sweeping it under the rug. I shall do just do it.

Confession

I have a confession to make. Yes, I did forget to blog the last two days, but that's actually not my confession. My confession is about my writing class and an incorrect response I gave to my professor's question (the people who will probably actually read this will know exactly what I'm talking about as you were also in class). During class, my piece of writing from a previous assignment was used to demonstrate a specific line of questioning for enhancing children's writing. My piece was on judgment based on clothing. The question she asked was whether I had ever been judged based on my clothes. My initial response was "not that I know of, but I dress fairly modestly because I don't want to be judged." I did not actually mean for my response to be inaccurate, but if I'm being honest there are only two separate things that are honest about this response: I don't want to be judged and I do dress modestly. I know I have been judged based on my clothing before. My own mother has told me what others (and I think probably herself) think about what I wear. Those of you reading this have also probably seen me and what I wear before. I usually dress in a pair of jeans, tennis shoes, a t-shirt, and a jacket (or sweatshirt) with my hair in a pony tail. Those comments that I have heard from others are: I am tomboyish, I dress like a guy, I don't like girly things, I don't care about myself, I am a slob,etc, etc,. I think that subconsciously the essay I wrote was getting down to how unfairly I have been judged based on what people don't know about me. It would probably astonish people to know why I dress the way I do. I am extremely insecure about myself. I don't think I'm pretty. I don't think I'm worth the money to buy nice clothes. I don't think I can look good anyway. I don't think I have the capability of making myself look nice either. And while I'm being honest I should tell you that I don't necessarily want to be any of those things either. I am comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt because they make me feel secure in who I am. I'm not showing off my boobs (with different shirts) because my boobs aren't me. I'm not making myself taller (with heels) because being short is a part of me. I'm not spending money on designer jeans with holes because I believe in making your own holes through hard work. And I wear all these clothes because I'm not setting myself up to be stared at by unwanted eyes, attention and roaming hands. This, of course, leads to why I am so insecure and why I get so angry with unfair judgments. I have been abused and no one understands what that does to you. No one has the right to judge me when they don't know me or my past. No one has the right to judge anyone they don't know or know about. No one has the right to judge. Period.

Combine Derby Report

What a day! I first walked through all of the 4-H and craft buildings...pretty boring. I then visited all the stinky animals: pigs, sheep, steers, chickens, rabbits, and ducks and geese. That brought back the good old memories of my days in 4-H. My husband and I had brought along a few of his siblings so while walking through the pig section of the barn, we stopped to look at a pregnant pig in a furrowing cage. I explained to my youngest sister-in-law why she was kept in there instead of a regular pen like the rest of the pigs (to keep from sitting on her babies once they were born). A woman just happened to hear me and asked if I had experience with pigs and breeding (which I do). She actually asked me for advice on which pig would be best to buy to start a pig breeding business. It was kind of awesome and made me feel smart. Then it was off to the actual derby!
Lawn mower races started the derby off. Although it sounds lame and boring, it is totally sweet! People actually spend their hard earned money ($300-$3000) to fix up lawn mowers and travel around the states racing them. Some are just regular lawn mowers (without blades of course), but others are modified for racing. They spice up the engine and anything else to make it go up to 50 mph. The first group was actually only two people, but these two people were seven year olds! Can you imagine letting your seven year old son race a modified lawn mower!? One of those kids was definitely having too much fun! Every time he passed the last corner he'd hit the gas as hard as possible which basically made his mower drift around the wet corner. I think he felt like a nascar driver. Different heats were spaced in between the heats of the combine derby. During one of the last races their was actually a wreck. The guy's lawn mower totally flipped and he went flying into the dirt. He was uninjured, but unfortunately his mower was not...he had to leave the race. He made it into the final "All Out" race, as did most, if not all, the racers. According to the announcer, it's called the "All Out" race because "they have the rest of the year to fix up their mowers." In this race they line everybody up against haybales at the edge of the arena and they race to the first corner and then do five more laps. The winner takes all the money (which for each race is $250).
Then came the combines! They first did barrel races (just like in a rodeo but with combines instead of horses). There were eleven contestants. The fastest time was around 38 seconds. It's amazing how well those combines can actually maneuver. Then the carnage started! The combines were split into two heats. First and second of each heat moved onto the final heat. The losers of the first two heats were given a chance to enter a 'wild card' heat. First and second of this heat also moved onto the final heat. In one of the initial heats, a combine called the Covered Wagon actually had his entire header (front portion) ripped off by double attack. In the wild card heat the officials blew the whistle and ended the heat with three combines still visibly running. Just after it ended, The Hulk broke down. This was the officials' first choice for winner. Because of an apparent early judgment they allowed all three combines into the final heat. That meant seven combines would compete for the overall win. The last heat was basically awesome. Sneak attacks, head ons, double teaming, it was all there, even after all the previous damage to the combines. However, this heat did have one problem. Mike Jenson with his camouflaged combine totally got screwed out of the win. He made an awesome side hit to The Hulk. This hit was so good that he not only took out The Hulk, but he got entangled and stuck to it. He waved his arms and set off smoke signals with his rig, trying his best to get the attention of the other participants or even the judges. One hard hit from another combine would have loosened the grinding metal, but Jenson was doomed to a losing fate. No one noticed him and if they did they ignored him.  His combine was still running in almost-tip-top shape, but he had no way of putting it to use. The officials did nothing to help, but instead did the worst thing possible. They made him pull his flag and bow out of the competition. Now, he may not have won the competition but there was no reason to take that chance away from him. Otherwise the derby was just plain awesome! Best entertainment ever!