An Update

There's been a lot going on and obviously more to come since Christmas is this week, so I just thought I would give you guys a little update.

We'll start out on the baby front...I went to the doctor last week and had a GREAT appointment. I saw the new doctor and she was excellent. I told Jon that I just hope that she isn't ruined by the other doctors or the busyness of the clinic. She was very personable, talked to me about everything she was doing, and wanted to "get to know us." It was great. Perhaps it was merely a result of having no expectations at this point, but I really did enjoy her and actually enjoyed my visit (as opposed to the multiple times I have left almost in tears). So that was great. She also said that Baby Haddy is doing great and moving all over the place. She also, after talking about my last ultra-sound seems to think that she is going to be small. Jon and I were both small babies (5-6 lbs each), so it's looking pretty good, as of now at least, that she won't be gigantic! I am thrilled with that, being that I do have to birth this child!

Tomorrow Jon and I are going to head down to Colorado Springs for the day, before meeting up with his family in Denver. We are excited to check out our future stomping grounds, and look for places/areas to live. I have only been to The Springs (that's what the locals call it) once, which was a few months ago. Our top priority then was to hang out with our friends (and Jon's interview of course), so we didn't get to see much of the town. We are looking forward to driving around, looking for the happening spots, and maybe doing a little last minute shopping. The more I think about it, the more excited I get because this will finally be a permanent place for us, which we haven't had in the 4 1/2 years that we have been married. We are hoping to buy our first house and get settled (whatever that means, right?). It will be fun, and it feels like we will be starting our little adventure with this little trip.

Then we are going to be in Denver for a few days, hanging out with Jon's family. I was planning to go to Oklahoma after that, but decided not to, as I have just been exhausted these days. If I would have gone, it would be ten days straight on the road, and then back to work the day I return. It is just too much for me right now. So I am planning to go sometime in February, when things aren't so whilwind-ish. I think I will enjoy my time there more, if I am not so exhausted from everything else.

So I think that's it! I am sure everyone will be busy too, but I do hope you take time to enjoy this Holiday season! And in the words of the British, Happy Christmas!

A Funny Surprise

I bought the Jim Brickman Christmas CD at Hastings at Thanksgiving. It was on sale for five bucks, so I thought, why not. I had it playing one day while Mom and I were doing some stuff in the kitchen. I was enjoying the CD a lot and mentioned to Jon that I would like to go see him in concert some time. It was just an informational comment that I was intending that he store in the back of his mind for a later date. Just if he was at a loss for something to do sometime.

I got home from New York and he just mentioned that we had plans for Tuesday night. He wouldn't tell me what they were, but was just notifying me so that I didn't make other plans. I was very tempted to check his email for any clues as to what our plans might be, but I refrained. Okay, maybe not totally. I checked one email, although I knew that he wouldn't have used that email because I check it all the time (it's sort of our "joint" account). I didn't checked his school email, although I was very tempted to do so. I love surprises so I just decided to wait.

All I knew was that we were going to Denver and had to be there by 7:30. So I left a little early from work yesterday and we took off. We stopped in Ft. Collins for dinner at a Vietnamese Noodle place and that's when he gave me the scoop. He was taking me to see Jim Brickman! I didn't even know that he was going to be in town!

Because of my comments at Thanksgiving, Jon was just sure that I knew that he would be in town, and that it was more of a gentle encouragement. Funny thing is, I didn't know! I actually had no idea at all. So it ended up being a pleasant surprise and an evening filled with good Christmas music. Although we did get home late, it was worth it because we had a nice evening "out on the town." Do I have a good hubby or what?!

Welcome Home Steph

The first three days of our trip to New York consisted of rain, rain, and more rain. I always thought that I would like the rain. I used to love the pouring rain storms in Oklahoma in the summers. I actually kind of start to miss the rain living in Wyoming. I am pretty sure it hasn't rained here since August (maybe earlier, I don't remember). So when I saw the weather in New York and saw that rain was almost guaranteed, I thought, "cool, I love the rain." Boy was I wrong! I heartily retract my statements about loving the rain. I like an occasional rain storm in the SUMMER, not so much in the winter.

With that being said, I realized that I would much prefer the snow to the rain any day...well maybe any day between September and March. I am ready for it to be warm enough to rain when April rolls around, although we are rarely so lucky. Anyway, I found it quite surprising that I felt relief when landing in Denver to hear the pilot announce, "current temperature in Denver, negative eleven." While most people groaned in disgust, initially I was happy. Really, really cold and snowy is way better to me right now than almost freezing and rain.

The thing is, is that snow (at least in WY/CO area) can be dusted off your shoulders. You need only to throw on your hood or hat when you go outside, and then dust off the snow when you arrive. Thirty seconds and you are dry. I found myself doing this while in NY, but instead it was rain. I pretty much just rubbed the water in, while getting my gloves all wet at the same time. It was rough!

So while the welcome home wasn't all warm and cozy it was a welcome home, none the less. I am grateful to live were I do and to have a nice warm car and house to come home too!

NYC at Christmas

The pictures are a little out of order, but that's just the way it's going to have to be. I don't want to spend the time moving them around. For some reason I lack logic when it comes to blogging anyway, so I'd hate to add to my issues!

New York at Christmas was what I expected. Decorations everywhere, the tree in all its splendor, random outdoor festivals, and chilly air. I didn't expect so much rain, but it happens!

Some of the decorations in Saks 5th Ave. So fancy!
Mom and me on the boat. It was a city lights tour or something like that.

Me and the tree.

I was actually surprised by the tree. It wasn't as big as I expected, but still cool.

Everyone loves an 8 lb. Hershey Bar right?

We got to see the Rockettes. I totally recommend doing this some time. It was fantastic!

You've got to love the Macy's Moose and Penguin.

The whole group from the Top of the Rock.

Stinking cool origami tree at the Museum of Modern History. All of the ornaments are made from paper.

Outside of the Museum of Natural History, posing with the evergreen dinosaur.

View of the Chrystler Building at night from Bryant Park.

Bryant Park at night.

There was an ice skating rink set up in Bryant Park with lots of shops and goodies. It was very surreal. Just as you picture NYC in the winter.

Mom, sis, and me in Times Square the first day. Can anyone spot Baby Haddy??

Gloomy Weather

I was just looking at weather.com this morning and found that it's supposed to snow for the next three days. This is always a bittersweet time of year. I love that it's cold and "feels" like Christmas...I even love the snow. However, at the same time, I am beginning to see the reality that winter is here. It is dark by 4:30 and we've already had snow on the ground for three or four days now with more on the way. I was just wondering as I was walking into work this morning if the snow will melt or was last week the last time that we will see the grass? Once it starts snowing here, snow piles up and you really don't see grass or any vegetation other than pine trees until Spring. While it is WAY better than being hot, the winter can still be long. Really it's this late fall time that's the worst because you get some really cold snaps and it's usually windy. For the most part I really enjoy winter and it's activities, I just think the reality of it's arrival is just setting in. The combination of extra snow falling and the time change (I know, I know it was over a month ago, but it's tough to get used to!) is great for lazy days and catnapping, but not so good when you have to work and get things accomplished! Oh well...hopefully I will get adjusted soon!

Baby Haddy News

So Baby Haddy is officially a girl! We found out last week, just before we left to go out of town for Thanksgiving. We are really excited, and I suddenly feel the urge to go shopping and to register. Hopefully we will be able to get to work on that in the next few weeks, as Jon will be finishing up his semester next week. I am also certain that I will be able to do some shopping in New York next week, while I am sure that her aunt and grandparents are already shopping! Our crib will be arriving the next few weeks and so it seems that our house will begin to be transformed in the next few weeks! Good times and happy nesting!

Whirlwind of Weeks

My family was in town last week. They were here Tuesday through Saturday and left Sunday morning. We had a great time together, although the week just seemed to fly by. In looking at my calendar it is really difficult for me to believe that it is almost December. I am sure that this week will go by in the the same whirlwind spirit as last week. We are headed to Thermopolis on Wednesday to do Thanksgiving with Jon's side of the family. The whole clan will be there and I am sure there will be lots of eating and card games. I've got lots to do in the next two days before we leave, including pie baking, a doctor's appointment, packing, laundry from last week, and even a little grocery shopping. So, I am sure time will continue to fly by. The reality of this holiday season is soaking in and I am just ecstatic about it this year. So many fun things to do, so little time!

Early Thanksgiving Celebrations

Jon fried up a turkey for our Thanksgiving Dinner. It was stinking cold that night too, but he just added the layers and kept cooking!

He is preparing the oil. It was also dark, but he is always prepared!

Good picture proving that something is growing inside of me!

"Sightseeing" with my mom, sister, and her boyfriend Nick. We took lots of time out for pictures.

Snowy pine tree. Mom LOVES the snow and the pine trees, so she was having a pretty good time!

Jon and me posing in front of a tree.

Big, strong Jon holding up that big boulder all by himself!!! Whew, big muscles!

Mom and Jon having a snowball fight. Believe it or not, Mom started it!

Boys being boys. Jon and Nick climbed on everything!

Best Doctors Appointment Ever!

Boy that title sure makes it sound like I am going to tell you something exciting! Calm down, because my expectations are much lower than they used to be regarding doctors in Laramie and what I am about to tell you would seem totally normal to most of you. But it is a big deal to me!

I think that I have already mentioned that I am not crazy about my doctor. Her "bedside manor" is poor at best. Really there is just no customer service, what-so-ever. I decided that perhaps it is more of a personality conflict. I am a very anal person and have lots of questions. I also went into this whole monthly prego doctor visits thing with a false hope that I would actually enjoy the visits. Clearly I had false expectations! My doctor on the other hand, while she seems to be a people person, does not seem to really have any concept of the fact that she is just kind of rude. So, we conflict. She also probably knows everything there is to know about being pregnant and seems to find it incredibly irritating that I do not.

So today's visit began with excitement for both Jon and me at the fact that this would be my last time to see her. My next appointment will be an ultra sound (a tech does that so she won't be there) and then I see the new doctor. Now, I realize that I cannot totally assume that the new doctor in town will be any better or nicer, but I have high hopes. So we just got started on a good note today.

Then the doctor came in. I was fully prepared to have one last un-enjoyable experience, when much to my surprise Ester (the dr) wasn't alone. She had a student with her. He was a very nice young man and much to my surprise again, he asked how I was feeling and how things were going. I was shocked! He and my doctor both asked if I had felt any movement or anything. I replied that I had not. Then my doctor took over and began explaining that the placement could be weird and it's possible that I would feel it for a few more weeks, but that I shouldn't be worried. I am not over-exaggerating when I say that this is the most explanation that she has given me on any one subject since I have seen her!

The student again asked if I was feeling okay or if I had any questions! What?!? Questions?!? Am I allowed to ask questions??? At my last appointment, the doctor had her hand on the door after spending less than five minutes with me, when I mentioned that I did have just a few questions. She then sighed and asked what my questions were, as though to imply that I should not have any questions because I SHOULD know all about this by now. Throughout the appointment the student continued to ask Jon and me questions and was very friendly.

Ester was even friendly. She even explained what she was listening to when she heard the heartbeat and that she could even hear the baby moving around in there! Now I assume that these explanations were more for the benefit of the student than for Jon and me, but I didn't really care. We actually got some helpful information. We then had another opportunity for questions at the end and then they were gone. I think they spent at least 15 minutes with us, which is a significant improvement to the 5 minutes last time. It was great!

It was also the first time that I didn't leave my appointment wanting to cry or being really pissed off. I was actually happy and felt as though the appointment went as it should. Everyone was so nice and helpful, for the very first time. We even had to talk to the billing people (who are not very nice at all) and asked for an itemized bill for the payments we are making each month. They were happy to give it to us and said that we could get one any time! Amazing! So I would definitely have to say that this was my best appointment so far...I only hope that they will continue to get better as time goes on, and as I begin to see my new doctor!

Weekend of Nesting...Men can do it too, right?

Jon and I, as you are well aware, are kind of cheap. Okay, we actually probably fall into the really cheap category. Not with everything...I mean we like nice things, we just try to be really practical. We have been shopping/looking for baby furniture. I was honestly amazed at how expensive some of the stuff can be! I guess it is furniture, but to me it's not exactly going to be around for that long...I mean we aren't planning to have 12 kids or anything. Maybe in that case I could justify spending so much on it, but for two kids...no way! So we have been using our "Baby Bargains" book and searching the Internet. We started with IKEA (it actually received a pretty high rating), but then decided that we probably wouldn't save much if we had to drive to Salt Lake (about 5 hours), stay the night in a hotel, and eat out the whole time. So we nixed that. Next we found some nice things at JC Penney's. Now we aren't talking just a crib. We have nothing for the baby. We don't even have a dresser...we have a twin size bed (which I suppose the kid could sleep in...what's the trouble with that?) and a desk. The room that we are transforming used to be our "office." So anyway, one item, like a crib wouldn't be so bad if we didn't need a dresser, changing table (which we have also nixed), and who knows what else! I mean we are talking between $500-$600, which I have learned is really on the cheap end! But I am digressing. Anyway, so we found some stuff that we really liked at Penney's but quickly realized that the prices we were looking at were the "sale" prices. So when we looked at the set that we found the next week, each piece had gone up by about one hundred bucks! Give me a break! So we had pretty much given up on that for a while out of frustration. Well, Jon and I were walking through K-mart...yes, apparently not all of the K-marts went out of business. I found that out when we moved to Wyoming, where there seems to be one in every town. Anyway, so we are walking through K-mart desperate to find something I needed for some Christmas gifts (and to no avail), having already exhausted the other options in town (Wal-mart), when we walked past the furniture section. Who knew that K-mart even had a furniture section? I didn't, but apparently they do now because of the Sears affiliation. So this little pine colored dresser catches our eye. It was originally priced at $60, but was now on sale for $30. 30 dollars?!?!? You have got to be kidding me!! So we checked it out...decided that while it wasn't by any means the most beautiful piece of furniture we had ever seen, it would probably work for a baby's room. We decided that we should just get two of them because it was kind of small, but two should give us more than enough room. I had been planning, thanks to some friendly advise from friends, to use the top of the dresser as a "changing" table. Apparently you can just get a pad to attach to the top of it. As I began thinking about it and our purchases became more realistic (they had to search the back for the second one), I began to think that this was a brilliant idea. I mean really, why would I want to purchase a nicer piece of furniture and pay more for it to be peed on, pooped on, pucked on, and have any other number of bodily functions that babies produce (some that I am probably not even aware of) done to it? I am thinking I won't feel nearly as frustrated when these things occur, because it was 30 bucks and who really cares if it gets ruined in a couple of years. I will gladly throw it out when the time comes. However, if I had spent more money on it, I would be much more hesitant and probably more grumpy about it too! So I am officially Mrs. Cheap-o Depot, and proud of it. I am happy with our purchases and somehow feel like we robbed K-mart on our way out simply due to the fact that they were so cheap.

While Jon was just as ecstatic as I was about the price, he was probably happier about the purchases than I was. This is because he LOVES to put things together. I called him one time before we were dating and asked him to put a desk together for me. I am pretty sure that he was over 20 minutes later. The guy is crazy about this stuff! So anyway, not only had we purchased two dressers for a very low price, but we also purchased an evening of entertainment for my handy man husband. Here is a pre-construction photo (as you can tell he was very enthusiastic about getting his photo taken). As it turns out, this became more than one evening's worth of entertainment. After completing the construction of one of the dressers three hours later, he decided to call it quits for now. I am sure that he will get excited about it again in a couple of weeks and finish the other one. I was told that I would have to wait for a "post-construction photo" until the other one is completed. I know that you will wait anxiously for this photo, although I cannot guarantee when it will arrive. So, apparently men can nest too. He tried to blame it on me saying that he was nesting for me, but I wouldn't allow that! I just expected these little jewels to go in the garage until much later. I didn't care if they were put together that day...it was totally him. So while he won't admit it, Jon has experienced the first of many, I am sure, "nesting sessions" and I do believe he even enjoyed it!

The Past Few Weeks

I have taken a few random photos here and there the last few weeks, so I thought I would share them.
This is a tree in our "backyard." Since we live in an apartment it's not technically the back, but it's what you see when you are out on our deck. This was about a month ago, actually, and all of the leaves are long gone. But I am posting it because I just love it and reminds me of my favorite time of year, Fall!!

We hung out with our friends Ryan and Sara on Halloween. They just moved into their house about six months ago, and were excited to pass out candy to trick-or-treaters, so we joined them. It was a bit disappointing because it appears that people in Laramie just don't walk the neighborhoods much. Perhaps because it's too cold most of the time and usually snowing. So we played some games instead and made Halloween cookies. Check out our works of art...

This is Ryan and Sara. It was late by the time we started decorating the cookies and we ended up having so much fun. I haven't laughed that hard with people (other than Jon...he makes me laugh a lot) in a really long time. It was great.

One friend asked me the other day about how MD was doing. Jon and I are his "American aunt and uncle" so we have really enjoyed him being back here. I was having a rough day on Thursday and when I saw him I just could be upset anymore. I mean really who could be upset when your "nephew," who is smiling at you with a big toothless grin, curly black hair, and big brown eyes and wants to play with you?!? He's just adorable! He is walking about five steps now, but gets around pretty well even still. He's a mean crawler and has learned to climb things as well. We get a kick out of him every time we see him...notice also that he's sporting some cool corduroy pants...Jon was jealous.

We're Officially Becoming Coloradans-BUT not for almost a year, so no worries.

It's official! Jon interviewed with Stockman, Kast, Ryan, & Co. last week when we were in the Springs, and he was offered the job on Monday. They gave him until the end of the week to respond and he let them know today that he was going to accept the position. So, WE ARE MOVING TO COLORADO SPRINGS--but not until next August!

Jon is really excited about the company. They were some of the nicest people that he interviewed with, so that's a plus. Also, most of the partners have worked for one the "Big Four" accounting firms. They are the big, momma, johommas that make good money (about 5 thousand more starting out) but work insane hours (like 60-70+ hours/week during the busy season which can last up to 6 months)and burn out really fast as a result. So the nice thing about the fact that all the partners have done this kind of work, is that they really appreciate overtime and try to compensate their employees for it. Jon will get paid for every hour about 40 that he works. This is VERY uncommon in the accounting world.

Also, he won't have much of a commute to work. The company is in downtown, but that will not be nearly as intense as Denver. Maybe 20 minutes, maybe 30 on a really busy day at the most, which is a big plus, considering Denver's commute is about an hour. The cost of living is much lower there too and there's plenty of opportunity for me to get a job, go back to school, etc.

So we are super excited about it and look forward to getting more "settled." It's just another bit of fun to add to this already exciting time in our lives!

Pictures

Garden of the Gods.
More of the Garden, which is about 15 minutes from the middle of town.

The trees were still changing there.

View of Pikes Peak, although not the best picture.

Jon and I asked Justin to take a picture of us. This is what we got.

Jon's always climbing on something!

Boys!

The girls and I posing by the rock. The girls had been watching a couple of guys climb the side of one of the rocks for at leas 30 minutes by the time I got there.

The boys trying to look tough.

Weekend Trip

Jon and I had a great time with our old pals last weekend. We got to spend time with people, some of whom we haven't seen since before we moved to Wyoming. It was great to get to see them and do a little exploration of Colorado Springs. I hadn't been there before so it was kind of fun to check things out. I was actually exploring for a different reason...this was during the time that Jon was interviewing for a job (more on that later). It was a beautiful town. Pikes Peak is right there, Garden of the Gods is about ten minutes from downtown, and there are literally mountains on three sides. I was impressed with that, I have to say! We all went to Garden of the Gods one of the days and had a great time, although I am pretty sure that we were breaking the rules because we were technically climbing on the rocks. I have lots of pictures that will be coming just as soon as I can find the cord that connects my camera to the computer!!!

Snug as a Bug in a Rug

This week was an eventful week baby wise. I think I am starting to "pop out." They say it happens, and I do believe that I am there. I wore some of my favorite pants to work yesterday, and found that they were practically cutting off the circulation between the waste down and the upper half of my body. They were one of the only pairs of dress slacks that I had left that I could wear comfortably, and they were officially retired last night. Pant-wise, I am down to one pair of jeans and two pairs of corduroy pants (same pant, same color, so really it's just one pair). Shirts seem to be fine, especially since I am able to wear some sweater...they just have more room. I am prepared with a few pairs of maternity pants, however I may have to shop for some more over the weekend, if it really is true that I am going to make the switch. So, while most women would dread this stage or perhaps be indifferent, I am excited. Maybe for the first time I will actually look pregnant, rather than just appear to have gained ten pounds of belly fat in the last two weeks. Plus, I am looking forward to looking cute and prego, so that is always exciting. Friends and family that will see me in the next few months, be prepared! Baby Haddy is saying hello to the world!

Stinking Whole Foods

I had never been to a Whole Foods grocery store until last weekend. I had read about these sodas that are recommended for pregnancy because they have that "special drink" feeling without the alcohol or caffeine. When I looked on their website, it appeared that the only place to buy them was either online or in a Whole Foods. I had been wanting to visit one, as my friends all rave about it. One friend swears the cake is better than anything else, another loves the fruits and veggies. I have driven past the Whole Foods in Ft. Collins a million times, and never could persuade Jon to go inside. He's very anti-organic and jokes that he "likes genetically altered foods."

I knew that this time I had him because I actually had a specific reason to go there. I also clinched the deal by volunteering to pick up some glutten-free pasta for a friend at work. So at the end of our evening in Ft. Collins, he hesitantly drove me to this mysterious store. I guess my whole interest in it was that we always drive by, and all you can really see is the produce. I was always amazed because it always looked so pretty. Definitely eye catching. That is really what I was looking forward to the most. I mean really, there's nothing better (well in a grocery store anyway) than a well stocked, well arranged produce section.
We parked near the produce doors and felt quite out of place in the parking lot. We aren't the kind of people that eat organic foods. In WY and CO, there is definitely a "look" and we don't fit it. Anyway, so we went on in through the produce section, when to my surprise, it smelled! It smelled awful! I am not sure if it was just my ultra sensitive, prego nose or what, but I was simply overwhelmed with the smell of fish. Come to find out, where the produce section ended, the fish section began. It was so gross! Jon and I walked quickly through the produce section, stopping only to gawk at the ridiculous prices. Now this is not to condemn anyone that does shop at Whole Foods or likes to buy organic, but it was just too much for me. I just refused to purchase artichokes at Albertson's the other day because the price tag was a whopping two dollars each. I nearly passed out when seeing the beautiful artichokes at Whole Foods for the low, low price of $3.99!! Call me cheap, but I just couldn't comprehend spending so much on groceries. Okay, okay, please call me cheap. I will take no offense. I am cheap, just like Jon. It's why we work so well together!
So, needless to say, we were not off to a good start. At this point, I was desperately just trying to find the precious beverage jewels that I had come in for, as Jon was getting a little ridiculous. He stopped only to draw attention to the fact that this is not possibly organic, I can get that at Wal-mart or to gawk more at the obscene price tags on sodas, chips, and Asian sauce. I have to say I did agree with him on most things, however I did feel my cheeks flush when we walked past the "Asian" section only to hear Jon say, "are you kidding me?" That was when he followed up with,
"that's not organic, that's Wal-mart." Finally we had found the isle with the sodas. Of course the ones we were looking for were hidden (not really, but they were hard to find).
We are both in a hurry at this point...Jon because he doesn't want to be seen supporting this ridiculous establishment, and myself because the fish smell was really starting to make me nauseous. We also had to purchase some pasta for my work friend, and I wasn't about to walk up and down the aisles looking for the "glutten-free" section. Fortunately, there was a God-send (although it was probably his job and he didn't mind at all) at the end of the soda aisle, who quickly walked me over to the glutten-free section. He showed me all of the choices and then left me to make my decisions. He was a very nice man, and while I did not appreciate his store at this moment, I did appreciate his help.
Alas, our shopping extravaganza was over. Four items later (3 bags of pasta, one four pack of soda) we found our way to the checkout. We didn't even make it to the bakery, but it was no loss for me at the time. While I was in line, I couldn't help but stare at the people unloading carts full of organic food...many were overflowing. I couldn't help but wonder and whisper to Jon about how much they would be spending. According to my figures, it must be at least three times what I spend on the same cart full at Wal-mart. Perhaps that is an over-exaggeration, but I am convinced that it can't be too exaggerated.
Jon took our nice recycled paper bag of goods and we proceeded to the exit. We of course got one more strong wiff of the fish department on our way out. Goodbye Whole Foods. We were never happier to be out of a store! I am sure you can guess that we probably will not be going to another Whole Foods for a while...if Jon has anything to say about it, a LONG while. I have to say that I am in agree-ance with my husband on this and would prefer to be able to save our money for any number of other things, than to waste it (in my opinion) on fru-fru groceries. I already have a hard time with the expensive price of groceries living in WY, and I don't believe I want to spend more than I already do. I guess deep down, I really am cheap and really do like "genetically altered" foods, if for no other reason than they are cheaper.

"Bass-akwards" Plumbing

This is the kind of plumbing that we have in our apartment. It all started Friday night. Jon and I were doing some intense cleaning on Friday night, and while not exciting to most, we were having a good time. There's nothing better than really get things deep-down cleaned. So anyway, I had asked Jon to spot clean the carpets. He started to do this and then decided, when he ran out of resolve that he would just shampoo the whole house. Sweet! I was secretly hoping he would want to do that, but it is a lot to ask of a person. So he got busy, and we were both so astonished at how dirty your carpet can get. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that we don't have an air conditioner and so all summer long, dust flies in through the open doors and windows. Anyway, so it was quite an exciting evening and while he did that I was scrubbing down the kitchen and doing laundry, and occasionally helping out when needed with the carpets. When he was done with the carpet cleaner, he was emptying the dirty water as we were admiring how dirty the water was, even the second time around, when we noticed that the inside really needed to be cleaned. We thought it would open up if we removed all of the screws, but were mistaken. So we just cleaned it out the best that we could. Jon then went on to put the screws back in and inevitably we dropped one down the drain. So Jon climbed under the sink to remove the "trap." Apparently this little jewel is there for this very purpose, so it would be no big deal to pull it out. That is until Jon began his under-sink exploration. The pipes were a lot tighter than he had suspected and began using a bit of force. He dislodged one side, and decided that it would be too much work to remove the other side. So he fished out the screw with a combination of magnets, toothpicks, and tweezers. No sweat for my man! I had gone to bed, as I knew I would be more of a hindrance than a help in this situation...it's not so helpful for me to tell Jon how I think he should be fishing with the toothpick. When I left, he was almost finished. I woke up the next morning, a little bit after Jon since he had to go to work. He nonchalantly mentions that he might have broken the sink. What? What do you mean, I am thinking? I was pretty sure that he was almost finished when I went to bed! It was true, he did technically break the sink. Remember that "force" he has to use to get it out? Well apparently the reason was because the person that fixed our leaky sink last time (it's been leaky twice since we lived there), decided that he didn't want to come fix our sink again, so he just glued the pipes together! Nice! So when Jon was pulling on the sink, he messed up the "seal" that should never had been there in the first place. The guy was kind of mad at us at first, but then realized that it was absolutely not our fault because sinks are never supposed to have the pipes glued together. He couldn't even imagine who would do something like that (I know--his co-worker, but I did refrain from ratting him out). So after a Saturday morning of having a whole in the pipe (it's really tough to remember that you really can't use it at all or you will flood out your cabinet), it was temporarily fixed, until today, hopefully. Good times with crappy plumbing!

Good News from Friends!!!

I got a phone call from my friend Wednesday night, although I was about to pass out from exhaustion. I ignored the phone call and prepared for bed. I decided I would call her back the next day. I sent her a message on facebook to let her know that I would call her the next day and in fact was not ignoring her. She replied to say that she was just calling because she and some other Edmond friends will be in Colorado Springs at the end of the month and wondered if Jon and I were game for meeting them. I was so excited, although nervous at the same time because I didn't know how certain she was. When I talked to her on the phone, she confirmed that she and Ashlie would definitely be there, but then maybe some others too. I have to say that I am so stinking excited. It is always so good to be in the company of great friends. So the weekend of the 24th is blocked off and should prove to be an excellent time. I haven't really been to Colorado Spring before either. It is just three hours away, but there is so much to explore between here and there that we've never made it down there. I have driven through it, but that is all. I am looking forward to checking it out, as I know from our drive through that it is a beautiful area. Although I have to admit that I am most excited to see my friends. It will be great to have a little bit of home so close by!

Interviews-Boo!

Not really. Interviews are good. They are especially good when your husband is going to graduate from school in May, you are going to have a baby in April, and moving is in sight. They have, however, caused me to have a rather stressful week.

Jon has now survived his first week of interviews. They will continue on through next week, then hopefully that will be it for the first round. The second round should start the week after, should he get called for a second interview. He had three interviews this week, along with two job fairs, a meet and greet, and a golf tournament. Did I mention that he is taking 12 hours of graduate course work at the same time?! What a trooper! And, all of the events above (except the golf tournament and class) required business professional attire (aka. black suits). So he been spiffing himself up every morning...he's even putting gel in his hair and shaving his face! It's all quite exhausting for me, maybe because I am not used to him being so high maintenance. I think he's pretty pooped from it all too.

I am fortunate enough to have my own office, so Jon has been suiting up in my office each day. He drives the bus every morning (that's one of his jobs) and doesn't really want to wear a suit and tie to do that. So he comes to my office for about 10 minutes each day and changes clothes, de-lints his suit, and prepares for his interviews. That in and of itself has been stressful for me, as it is nearly impossible to actually work while he's here! So I have been shaving some time off my lunches and staying a few minutes late to make up for it. After the interview or at lunch he recounts the day's events and fills me in on all of the details of the interviews.

This has caused me to be very excited about the opportunities in front of us. Although I am a little nervous because several of the places that he originally wanted to work aren't hiring because of the economy. Not to worry though. I am confident that the Lord has a plan for us and has a great job out there waiting for him. Jon is a great student and a very hard worked. I am certain that these companies will see that and want to hire him.

So the next few weeks look to be a little crazy as well. As I said early, we are expecting more first interviews next week. Then the following two to three weeks will consist of second interviews. The first interviews are all on campus. UW has a great recruiting program, so the companies come to us. The second interviews are all on site. So he (we) will get to go to the towns where the companies are, stay the night, go out to dinner with them, etc. Should be fun, at least for me, because I will get to do some shopping or touring while he is busy being interviewed. I am glad that this is all going on now, rather than this time next semester, as that would just be nuts! The nice thing that that he will hear back with a final job offer (if they decide to offer him a job) by the first of November. That works out great for Jon and me, as we are planners and like to know what is ahead of us! So keep your fingers crossed or say a little pray for Jon if you think about him, that he would not be stressed and for favor with the interviewers.

Pumpkin Diving

I have a great husband. He reminded me of that on Saturday night. We had gone to a friend's house for dinner and we spent the evening together. These friends live out by Wal-mart (it's the edge of town and really far from everything else--we're talking a good two miles!). So anyway, we had some things to do at Wal-mart so we decided that we would just go when we left Khalid & Reem's. While Jon had other things in mind, the main thing on my list was pumpkins. I have finally pulled out the fall decorations and was in desperate need of some pumpkins for the front porch. I get to go "all out" this year since we have company coming for Thanksgiving. I am really considering a small bale of hay for my pumpkins to rest on, but that is still in the works. So anyway, back to the story. We did our shopping and then ended up in the produce section of the store. I slyly made my way over to the rather large container of pumpkins just to "look." Jon gathered a few other things while I continued to scope out the pumpkins. Finally, Jon came over to the pumpkins. I began talking about how big some of these pumpkins were. Like that one there, in the middle of the container. There were only about 30 pumpkins separating me and the perfect one in the middle. I didn't even need to ask. My dear ole' hubby just started pulling out the pumpkins. He would lift them out and set them on the ground around him. A few short minuted later (maybe 10, who knows) he pulled out my pumpkin. It was perfect and quite certainly one of the largest in the box! Then I saw the next one that I must have. Actually there were two, but the second one was quickly rejected (not by me of course). It was just too close to the bottom and I would simply have to settle for the second best one. To get to that one, my ingenious husband would merely need to shuffle the pumpkins. No more would have to be removed. I must say that I was quite content with my two pumpkin purchases, although I did vow to come back for the last of those perfect pumpkins. May next week, when a few more of the pumpkins on top are purchased, and I have my hay bale. For now, I am happy with the purchases and look forward to cleaning them up tonight and making them shine!

Exciting Few Months Ahead

The next few months should be pretty exciting for me. I am really starting to look forward to it. It's all official now too. I have taken off of work, plane tickets have been purchased, and hotels are booked.

The first thing is that my mom, sister, and sister's boyfriend are coming to visit in November. They were supposed to come for Thanksgiving, but due to certain events, ended up booking air travel for the week before. It all worked out nicely because no we will get to do lots of shopping, cooking/eating, and decorate for Christmas a week (or two) earlier! And I will take the whole week off of work (well four days) while they are here. Mom and Shelly really love the holidays as much as me, so we will have a great time kicking that off. The next week Jon and I will head to Thermopolis for Thanksgiving with his side of the family. Always a good time and will most likely be followed up with more shopping. Also, we should find out sometime in the midst of all of this what the sex of our baby will be!

About two weeks after Thanksgiving, I will be heading to New York to hang out with my sister (who lives there now), mom and Aunt Cynthia. I have always wanted to go to New York at Christmas. Jon and I went a few years ago with his family and had a fantastic time. I suspect that this trip will be just as good. We'll get to see the big Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center and I am sure that we will be eating in several of the delicious restaurants in NYC. I will be there for 5-6 days and really look forward to it!

Then a few weeks later (again) will be Christmas. We are going skiing outside of Denver. Okay, okay I won't be skiing this time, but I will be enjoying the beautiful mountains, hot chocolate, and snow from the comfort of the lodge. I may have to at least go tubing or something...we'll just have to see how big my belly is by that point! We will be up skiing for a couple of days and then will head to Denver for a couple of day for our Christmas celebrations.

I will leave from Denver and drive to Oklahoma the day after Christmas to see friends and my dad if he's in town. I already have heard rumors of friends that will be "home" for Christmas from the many places that they live now, and I am so excited to see them. I'll be there for about a week and then will be back to work (finally right?) by the new year! Exciting huh? At least it is for me!

Kennedy Peak

So my friend Michell is a serious hunter. She's the one I was going to go hunting with, when I was going to go hunting. We work together, actually just next door. We often email about random happenings and sometimes even talk on the phone. I know, I know, she's just next door, but it's so convenient. Usually if one of us needs a break or has a really good story, we actually get up and go to the other person's office. Today was one of those days.

Back to hunting. Michell and her husband go out hunting every weekend in the fall. It starts in the middle of August and doesn't end until the end of October, maybe November. Her husband, Eric, goes and scouts out good hunting places pretty much all summer long. He loves it. Being the serious hunters that they are, they are very hesitant to share their secrets. Fellow hunters and even hunters wives will ask them about where they got their deer, elk, antelope, etc. and often the response is Kennedy Peak.

This is not actually where they hunt, and I know this because she tells me where they actually get their kills. I am in the inner circle of trust...plus I think she knows that I really couldn't tell another person how to get to their locations anyway. All I know is that it's in the Snowies (which is quite vague). So anyway, Kennedy Peak is about the worst place to hunt, not because there aren't great animals there. Apparently there's a ton of them, it's just incredibly difficult to access. The terrain is straight up and down cliffs and the good animals are usually found deep in the woods. It's steep and rocky.

She always tells people that they hunt Kennedy Peak because she doesn't want to tell everyone where they go, or there will be no animals left for them. Also, she thinks it's really rude when people ask you where you got your animal because they put so much work into it. I mean remember, Eric scouts out spots all summer long.

So, today...our boss goes into her office and starts talking about hunting with her (that is a story in and of itself, which I will leave for another time). He mentioned that he used to go hunting in this one spot and brought his neighbor with him and it was such a good spot. Well the next year, the neighbor brought some other people, and then those people brought other people. The spot now is apparently overrun and not very good hunting (hence the Kennedy Peak answer that Michell gives). I guess they had talked before about where they hunt and she told him Kennedy Peak. He confirmed that today, and said that he would probably go there.

I got so tickled, because while yes it is lying, I think it's all pretty comical. Michell had me come to her office to share the absurdity with her, and then we laughed, thinking about someone actually going there. I cannot wait for the day that I hear the story of someone actually hunting Kennedy Peak...perhaps this will be the year. She swears it would take days to pack the animal out. I can just hear it now...great hunting, but man it took us forever to get out of there! So anyway, that was just my afternoon laugh and I thought I would share it.

No More Books for Me!!

I have been reading lots and lots of books these days. I am a big reader, so I figure that the more I can read, the more prepared I will be for the big changes coming up, aka, having a baby! So I am finishing up one book that has actually been enjoyable, while reading fifty others while also searching the internet. There is so much information out there and I have realized that it is quite overwhelming. I realized this in hinds sight of course.

I had a mini breakdown this weekend. My doctor gave me a couple of books and is already pressuring me to do things that I hadn't planned on doing. When I asked her about some of the questions that have been weighing on my mind, she pretty much (in my non-dramatic, definitely not over-emotional state) said that I couldn't do what I had been planning on. That's really when I began researching and feeling inadequate. It's never good when your doctor pretty much opposes your ideas. I did find out, from a friend at work who saw the same doctor with her last baby, that this woman is a specialist in the field and that she pretty much always thinks that any way but her way is bad.

I felt better going into the weekend, until I started reading the books that the doctor gave me. I began to freak out. Seriously freaking out. Not only did I find most of the things in the books stupid, but I also felt that this was just another way to pressure me into doing something that I didn't want to do. Pressure might not be the correct word...perhaps a better description of what was going on here was that the book was trying to guilt me into it. It worked. I became so frustrated with the whole thing that I started crying. I tried to talk to Jon, but he just didn't understand why it was such a big deal. We had made a plan, and I shouldn't let the doctor or her recommended reading mess with me.

After several hours of crying and thinking and trying to sort all of this out, I began to realize that Jon was right. The thing that I didn't like, however, was the fact that these books were telling me that basically if I didn't do what they were telling me, I would not be a good mother. I realized that the reason I was taking this so hard is because I was doubting that too. I, like any mother-to-be, want to do what is best for my child, but I think there are limits. Some stuff just sicks me out totally, and I am no super human or anything.

So in the mean time, I decided that Jon and I are going to have to come up with a plan to combat the doctor so that we can stand firm on the decisions that we have made. I am pretty sure I will be mean if the situation calls for it. She should be used to the fact that most pregnant women are a little crazy, so it probably won't be anything out of the ordinary. Plus, it's not like we are making an uninformed decision here. We had researched this stuff and decided on it long before we even got pregnant. So there!

So this mini-breakdown that I had on Saturday has proven to me that reading all of these books and gathering every bit of information is not going to be the best idea for me. Especially considering my, apparently fragile, state of mind. So for now, I am switching to Jane Austin. That always lift my spirits!

10 Weeks 4 Days today-It's Official!!!

So I had my first baby doctors appointment today. It was so exciting and yet exhausting at the same time! I am pooped out after all of that information! It was great though...we got to see Baby Haddy and hear the heartbeat! Jon was so cute and excited about that part. And he insisted that the baby was boxing and was totally shocked by it at the same time. He said he didn't picture it to be moving so much. It was very active and if that is an indication of the coming months, I will be getting a lot of action once I start feeling it! My offical due date is April 9th, 2009. The doctor said that we should expect a late March/early April baby! Here's the photos that we got, and while they aren't the best posses, you can see the arms and head if you look closely (I think you can click on the picture and it will enlarge). Baby Haddy is on his/her way! Woo-hoo...we are so pumped!

I'm Free!!!

The two weeks prior to the start of school and the two weeks after it begins are by far the busiest weeks of the year in my job. I usually work long hours and am in desperate need of a vacation when they are done. This year has been particularly busy and it feels so good to be done! Of course I am not done, done and there is always stuff to do, but I have hit the slower time where I can get caught up on other things.

I am also looking forward to the fact that I probably will not have to go through that again. Jon is starting to look for jobs right now and will probably be starting in August or September of next year, which means that we will most likely be moving. Of course this is all assuming that Jon gets a job, etc. Just I am pretty confident in his abilities. So the one month of the year that I pretty much hate my job won't be occurring anymore! That makes me extra ecstatic to be finishing up now.

The best part is that I do get to take a little "mini" vacation, or at least a couple of days off at the end of the week, because my dad is coming into town. Perfect timing pops! So I am anxiously counting down the hours that I have left to work and can't wait for Thursday afternoon!

Camping Trip Gone Bad

Jon and I had been planning our Labor Day camping trip for several months prior to it's arrival. Jon's whole family would be heading down to Chama, NM to celebrate a cousin's 50th birthday (it's actually Jon's mom's first cousin, so his second). We got a save the date card back in March and have been planning it ever since. We reserved a camp site, Jon's parents reserved a cabin, and we were set to go. Chama is in North Central NM, which means that we would basically just be driving through Colorado. Jon, being from New Mexico and traveling often to Wyoming, was familiar with the route from here to there, although I still did a mapquest just in case. I thought that perhaps it would be faster to take the interstate instead of the mountain passes, but I got overruled. Plus, Jon said it would be much prettier than the interstate. We compromised and decided that we would take the interstate home so that we could do some shopping along the way.

We decided that we would leave work around noon and be out of town by 1:00pm, and we did. Right on time. We made great time to Denver, which is usually about two hours, but took us 1 hr. and 45 mins. That's where it all began. 2:45 pm. We got pulled over. We were pulling our pop-up camper on the back of our new SUV, and were informed by the police officer that our lights were not working. We freaked out. Jon had just checked them two days earlier and they seemed to be working just fine. We had already planned to stop at Sams for some food items for us and the family, so we thought we would be able to find an auto parts store close by. The cop just told us to make sure they are working before it gets dark, to which Jon's response was, "we shouldn't be on the road when it's dark anyway, but I will make sure they are working." So we did find an auto parts store after taking several unsuccessful exits. We replaced the bulbs, thinking that the actual bulbs must have been bad. Negative ghost rider. They were doing the same thing. We finally gave up and decided that we would just figure it out later...we needed to get on the road before rush hour. 4:30pm.

We have now managed to kill an hour and half between our speedy trip to Sams and our not so speedy trip to the auto parts store. Traffic is starting to get heavier, but we don't panic...until we see a sign stating, "accident 36 miles ahead. Expect major delays." At first we thought, how bad could it be? It's a four lane road all the way, so it's probably just slow. As traffic began to travel more slowly, we began to doubt our choice, but we drove on. 5:00pm. Traffic stops in a small mountain town. Literally stops. We weren't even moving an inch. I told Jon that we should probably get some dinner, thinking that we were close to the accident, and didn't know how long it would take. We ate dinner and became increasingly nervous due to the fact that a truck with a boat did not move almost the entire time that we were eating. This is the truck that we were behind before dinner. I started asking people about the accident and quickly found that we would need to change our plan. The accident happened near a town that was "down the road about 15-20 min." And it was backed up that far...I'm guessing we were a minimum of 15-20 miles away from the wreck. 5:40pm.

We got directions for a "back route" from some locals that wouldn't require us to go all the way back to the interstate. We decided to go for it. Big mistake! This was a winding, two lane mountain road. Speed limit, 35 at times. To make matters worse, we were the only people on the road other than the mondo sized RV in front of us that was having major trouble with the turns. Actual speed, 20-25. 6:40pm. We finally get off of this road, and have traveled a grand total of 30 miles. We are approaching a rather large mountain. Which mountain might that be, you ask? Pikes Peak. We are facing the northwest side of Pikes Peak. Are you kidding me? The problem with this is that the other side of Pikes Peak (northeast) is about five miles off of the interstate. At most we were 10 miles from the interstate! Did I mention that the speed limit on the interstate is 75? In utter frustration, we decide to try to enjoy the view, as I have never seen Pike's Peak before.

We continue on. There is so much traffic, we seem to be moving at a snail's pace. The roads have finally become straight and yet we are still barely moving. The speed limit is only 55! So we are driving along and decide to put on some music. We are jamming out, trying to make the best of the fact that we should be in Chama by now, yet we are still four hours out. The road is pretty flat, but there are mountain ranges on either side. As we approached one particular mountain range, it has finally gotten dark, approximately 8:00pm, we notice a storm brewing at the top of the mountain. The closer we get the darker the clouds get and the brighter the lightning gets. Shortly after that it begins pouring down rain. We expected it because scattered showers were predicted in Chama all weekend. Rain, thunder, lightning, and more rain.

9:00pm. The rain stops along with much of the "drama" from the trip thus far. We are traveling at a good pace, there isn't much traffic at all, and we still have at least three more hours...make that four (although we didn't know it at the time). We keep driving and are getting tired. We decided that we would stay at a hotel in a small town, Alamosa, for the night. It would be 10:30 or 11:00 when we got there. We would just stay the night and finish the trip in the morning, since we were both getting tired. 11:00pm. Arrive in Alamosa. Pull into the Holiday Inn and the sign hanging on the glass says, "No Vacancy." Jon goes in just to double check because this is a small town in the middle of no-where, how could there not be vacancy. While I was waiting in the car I began looking around the parking lot, and then in the parking lot of the hotel that is next door. Classic cars everywhere. I mean there were at least ten right in front of the hotel. Come to find out, there's a classic car show in Alamosa all weekend, hence the no vacancy. No vacancy anywhere in town!

So now we have to come up with a plan B...actually this is more like a plan J, but that's obvious by now. We decided that we would have to keep driving. Chama is no more than an hour to an hour and a half from here, so we will just do our best. 11:15pm. We called Jon's cousins to see if we could coax an invite out of them to sleep at their cabin that night. We woke them up. The entire family was asleep at 11:00! The family consists of three "kids" all in their 20's, all with their significant others present, and they were asleep. Later, we figured out that we should have just come out with, "can we come to your house," but we didn't want to impose on them if they really didn't have room. So Darcy (the mom) just gave us directions to our campsite and said we would be able to check in there.

Plan K, our last and final plan, was that we would have to just set up our pop-up at 12:30 or 1:00 in the morning when we arrived, because we were pretty sure that no one would be there to let us check into Jon's parent's cabin. 12:30am. We see the "Welcome to Chama" sign. Finally! 12:31 am. It begins pouring down rain. We found our campsite after a while and after several thoughts of staying at the Bed & Breakfast in town (although it was probably booked). 12:45am. We arrive, 12 hours after the start of our trip, it's still pouring down rain, and we can't put our pop-up camper up because it would get ruined if we tried to do that in the rain. We sat in our car frantically trying to come up with some kind of brilliant idea (psyche--told you there wasn't another plan but there was), when we had one. I'm not sure which one of us it was, but we decided that we would just have to sleep in our car. We could pull out one of the mattresses from our camper and put it in the back of the car. That way we would only have to open the camper enough to pull that out and move the stuff from the car to the camper. Brilliant!

We were so happy, in a strange and it is far too late to be logical way. There were so many things that could have gone wrong, but didn't. I mean really were we sure that the mattress would fit? What about all of the coolers and camping gear in our car? It all worked out and I am not really sure how long it took us, but we could see that indeed we were going to get some sleep that night. The mattress ended up being a perfect fit, so we changed out of our wet clothes, got our blankets and pillows, and cracked the windows (so that we wouldn't suffocate). Somewhere around 2:00am. While it wasn't the best sleep I've ever gotten, it was good sleep and well deserved.

The next morning, 8:00am, we get a call on Jon's cell phone making sure that we made and to see if we would rather sleep or go fishing. We chose sleep, although we ended up just getting up and showering. Of course, we found out later that morning that we indeed could have slept in Jon's parent's cabin (they didn't arrive until Sat.) because there was a box at the front office that said, "late check-ins pick up your key here." Nice. We decided that while Chama had not made a very good impression on us so far, we would try to enjoy the rest of our trip, and we did. I would like to add though that we took the interstate home. Six hours flat.

Back to School

I can definitely tell that school is back in session here in Laramie. Our weekend trip to Wal-mart was chaotic due to the mass amounts of students purchasing bedding, notebooks, and ramen noodles. The streets are suddenly more trafficy and it takes twice as long to get to work (a whole 4-5 min. now). Summer is Laramie is nice, mostly because it is quite and the weather is fantastic. I have to admit though that I do have a sort of fondness for the starting of school. It marks the beginning of fall which is my favorite season. The temperatures start to cool down, and life comes back to this otherwise small, boring town. While work is crazy at this time of year, I somehow still find the time to enjoy it.

Today for instance, I had to walk across campus to drop off some paperwork. It's still pretty warm, so people are everywhere. Students are socializing and buzzing around. The campus shuttle buses are busy transporting some students, while the other stops are waiting for the right one. It's great! I love the opportunity to get out of my office and stroll around campus from time to time. I was reminded today of one of my absolute favorite things about this campus. The bikes. There are bikes as far as the eye can see. People zipping by you on one or pulling up to one of the racks or simply standing in riding position while talking to their friends. I walked past the bike rack that is next to the student union today. It was packed! As many problems as there are trying to find a parking space for your car on campus, there are just as many trying to find a place to park your bike. The bike racks near the union were full, so people had just locked them up wherever there was space....a tree, the handicapped access railing, the stairs, picnic tables.

I made me smile to see all of the bikes, as it does so often. I guess it's just because it reminds me of how active people are here, or maybe it makes me feel like a kid again. I don't know, but I love it, so I just thought I would share. Maybe in the next day or two I will remember to bring my camera so that you can see the really craziness of it all!

Bambi's Mom Lives

So I was planning on going hunting with my friend Michell this fall. I wasn't actually going hunt deer, but antelope (see right) instead. I thought (and still think) that it would be pretty awesome to go because it would fill your freezer for months, if not the whole year. This may sound sick to some, but I really have no problem killing an animal as long as you can eat it. I never intended on becoming one of those hunters that kills everything (bears, moose, mountain lions) just for the thrill of the hunt or even to help control the animal population. If I can't eat it, I'm not shooting it. That was my intention.

I still have no real aversion to the act of hunting. It's the gun. I hate guns, and pretty much always have. It really didn't cross my mind that I would have to get over this fear/hate of guns, until just recently. I never really considered it, and thought that when we practiced I would just somehow miraculously get over it. Not so much! It scared the poo out of me! It made my stomach churn and my hand shake (not a good thing when aiming either). I got a little more secure by the end, but then started imagining having to carry it all day, belly crawl with it, and do whatever else was necessary to spend an entire day, probably weekend, and maybe more of hunting for the perfect shot. That's what got me. I imagined that the gun wouldn't be loaded when we took it out. Then I would just load it when I was ready to shoot. That is not the case...you actually have to load it and carry it around like that!

So I decided, after many self-given pep talks, that I would not do it. I couldn't stand the thought of walking around all day with a loaded gun. I think the stress of that alone would make the whole thing miserable. So I had to bear the bad news to my friend this morning. I think she understood, but was a little disappointed. I am a chicken when it comes to guns, and I'm okay with that. I am rather disappointed myself, as I was looking forward to the freezer full of food, the mount that I was going to be give to the Shelton's at some point (perhaps for Christmas), and the fact that I would get to be out tromping around the mountains for days on end. Oh well. I think I made the right decision and know that I can deal with it. Maybe it will give Jon and me some time to go out and camp among the changing Aspen trees, while enjoying the crisp fall weather.