He dun kilt him a baar!!!

Well, I had to get permission to post these pictures because I wasn't sure if Dad wanted to be advertised on the world wide web! :)

For eight years now, Dad has been putting in for a hunting tag for black bear. This year, he finally got a tag! He spent something like eight weeks baiting (going out every day and putting out bait) and on opening morning, he shot this bear a half hour after the season started.

I know some of you aren't that big into hunting, but to control the population, they have to hunt bear. This year, the DNR made a mistake in their estimations of how many bear are around mom & dad's place and now the area is being overrun and the bear are doing LOTS of damage to people's crops and farm animals. It's sad, really.

Anyway, Dad worked long & hard to do this, so here are a few pictures to show off his bear!! :) He does plan on getting a half mount with it. I'll show pictures when he gets that done.

If you click ONCE on the picture, it will open up to a bigger view.
Here is a picture shortly after the kill. I can't tell if Dad's smile is so big because of how excited he is or if he's terrified that the bear really isn't all the way dead yet. haha! :) Live weight on the bear was about 260 pounds (that means that's how much it weighed before it was gutted).

This is how many guns that Dad brought with him for safety. Luckily, he only had to shoot one of them to get the bear. heeheehee... :)

Finally...a picture of his lucky huntin' hat... Can you guess who he was visiting when he got that hat?!?! :o)

Great job, Dad! This is pretty cool and I'm glad that you had a successful hunt! Love you!! :)

Tires 'n stuff

I bought new tires for my car today! After a few phone calls, I finally laid $499 on the table for four brand-spankin' new tires. Since winter is coming sooner than later, I figured it'd be better for me to be prepared with new tires since my other ones were practically bald!! Buying tires, as always, was an interesting experience and not one that I enjoy very much. The quoted price for four tires of varying brands, but similar styles, ranged from $72 per tire to $183 per tire. This was after calling four different shops in town. I ended up going with a middle-of-the-line-price by purchasing four Cooper tires. Here's to hoping that they treat me well!! :)

School is going good. I'm really learning a lot from my Public Relations class and my Relationship Ethics class, so I enjoy attending those classes. My third class, Advanced Communication Theory, is not that great and the instructor is difficult to tolerate because of his rudeness and crudeness. I don't dare say anything, though, because he's the kind that would take it out on you in your grades. So, needless to say, I'm looking forward to December and the end of the semester. Only eleven more weeks of class and then one week of finals! Wahoo! Wait...is it a little too early to start that countdown? :)

I've already started looking at tickets to fly to Wisconsin at Christmas. I can't believe that it's time to look at that already! It's been great to have mom & dad come out here and visit more often throughout the year. They are loving retirement and I'm loving that they're retired!!! :)

Since fall seems to be settling in for everyone, I decided to change the blog's background to some pretty fall foliage. It's my favorite season!!

Things at work have slowed down TREMENDOUSLY, thank goodness. Now I'm just trying to stay motivated with actually catching up!! When things slow down, it's easy to get into a mood of wanting to slow down a little, too, but it's important that I keep plugging along and GET AHEAD with things!

I purchased season tickets again for the university's women's basketball team. I'm not sure that I'll make it to all of the games, but as a friend reminded me, I'm still supporting the team with my purchase! :)

Hope you're doing well on this fine September day! Happy fall! :)

More thoughts, bullet style :)

• It's been a LONG while since I've posted, but things have been going good! I have been SUPER busy with work and school and I'm really hoping that it will slow down starting this week. We had a drop/add deadline finish up on Friday so students have to file petitions to drop classes now and usually once that deadline passes, things slow down quite a bit. I sure hope so!!
• My classes...I really like them! I really enjoy two of them and one of them...well, let's say that I'll tolerate it because I don't have a choice about it. :) It's just a drag because the professor is so obnoxious, but I'll manage just fine. The other two classes are the ones that I'm excited about..."Public Relations" and "Relationship Ethics." Both have proven to be VERY interesting so far! I think I'll learn a lot from them!
• I had to have our spring 2011 schedule loaded into the system by midnight last Friday, so I stayed late to work on it. After getting everything finished, I went to the folder for my Communication degree program and took a peek at the classes they're tentatively offering this spring and I'm excited about how things might work out! It looks like they're planning on a class on Tuesday nights and another one on Thursday nights and both are ones that I can take and ones that would let me graduate! Wahoo! :) Let's hope that things go accordingly and that they don't CHANGE the plans of what they're offering! :) It would sure be nice to have two nights of classes and that's it!! It's two separate classes that meet only ONE time a week, so that would be NICE! :)
• As I already said, work has been SUPER busy. I've worked late almost every night since the 23rd, Fridays included. It's not my most favorite time of year, but it would probably go a lot better if the students would LISTEN to the directions that they're given, whether from me or from one of their professors. I have become a firm believer that it's okay to repeat directions to students three or four times because the reality is that they're probably only going to hear the info ONCE.
• Mom, Dad & Luke's (my brother) visit was short, but super sweet! :) They pulled into town on Friday the 27th and left on Monday morning the 30th. We had a good time and laughed a lot and drove each other crazy some moments, but it was great!! :) I took them to the mountains one afternoon to see some scenery and that's about the "biggest" thing we did. We had some shopping trips and a potluck supper, but other than that, we just hung out and relaxed. It was NICE and I'm really looking forward to my time home at Christmas!!
• This week marks the official LEAP into the academic year. Two weeks down and 14 more to go before this semester ends and then I begin my LAST semester as a college student!! I'm so ecstatic about that! Mom & Dad asked, "What will you do then?" I said, "Start a Master's program?" haha... :) We'll see! :)
• Yesterday I ordered a new computer! Yay! It's a Dell desktop with a LOT more speed and functionality. It's due to arrive on the 22nd, so I'm excited for that day to arrive!
• Have a great week!

Thoughts on life

• My parents & brother are coming to town today!! I'm very excited to see them! They'll leave on Monday when I go to work, so it's a short visit for them.
• I have been feeling a bit "blue" for the last couple weeks now. I can't figure out if it's a seasonal depression that's going on or if it's more than that. This week has been better, thank goodness. I've been super busy this week, though, so maybe I didn't have enough to do over the last couple weeks? Who knows...
• I am so over school right now. I have two classes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and one class on Tuesdays & Thursdays. All of them are over the lunch hour. I've decided that it's rough not to have ONE day off from having classes (when working full time).
• In 15 weeks, I will be turning 30. Thirty!!! Yikes!! What am I going to do?!?!
• Why do people have to be so rude? If there is one thing that will leave me speechless, it's when complete strangers make comments TO ME in a public setting about my weight. It just baffles me. And we're talking rude and mean comments, too. It's not just a general observation or an "engage in conversation" comment. It's a flat-out rude comment about my appearance. Why do people have to do that? Do they not think that I already struggle as it is that they have to add their two cents worth? I just can't imagine doing that to someone, especially about something so sensitive.
• Back to school...my new mantra is, "I can do this, I can do this!!!" :o)
• Have a great day!!

Break time

I'm tired of blogging and I'm super busy right now. I'll blog when I can, but maybe not for a few more days.

Tiredness

Yesterday evening I was reading through past blog posts that I have on here and I thought, "Man...there seems to be a consistent pattern of sounding all down and depressed." I'm going to try and be more uplifting. But I'll start after today. Maybe. :)

So, it's 7:25 PM and I'm just heading out the door from work. I'm taking home a stack of stuff, too, and I plan to work from home all day tomorrow. At least I'll be able to stay home, though, and sit in my jammies while I work. :) If need be, I'll come in to the office on Sunday afternoon/evening, depending on how I feel.

You see, the University starts classes on August 23. Our graduate students are reporting back this coming Monday already (Aug. 16). And I have LOTS to do before they all show up!!!! Ack!! So, I'm trying to work, work, work so that when things actually DO get rolling, it won't be as traumatizing to let a few things "go" for a couple of days. :)

Tonight, though, I'm just going to CHILL OUT and read a book. *sigh* :o) Okay, maybe I'll do some laundry, too, but we'll see. :)

My good friend, Meegan, reminded me today that I hadn't put anything up about finishing school. Oops! I finished and I have been GLAD to be done! Although, I honestly don't feel like I've felt like I'm relaxing and having a break because I know that in the blink of an eye, I'll be starting three more classes again. I haven't felt annoyed by that or anything, but I just don't feel like I've really been able to just fully relax. It probably doesn't help that I've made plans for about every night of the week since my last class ended. ha! I told my mom that I'll have to start classes again just so I can slow down a little!! *laugh* Anyway, I finished the semester on a good note...I took four classes (for a total of 12 credits) and I got three A's and one B. I can't complain about that!!! :o)

And that's all for now! I need to get home and eat some supper. I hope that you all have a great weekend!! I have to say...our seasons are changing!! This morning I left home and I almost went back in the house to get a jacket!! It was a bit chilly!!! It's been in the 40's at night and you CAN feel it. THIS is the time of year that I really love. *sigh* :o)

More images from the wedding

Here are some more pictures from Monique & Daren's wedding day, courtesy of Esther (friend of mine & Mo's) and Karen (Mo's step-mom).

Again...for EVERY picture, if you click on it once, it will open up to a bigger screen and you will be able to get a better look at it. ENJOY!!!

Monique's family...minus her brother & sister-in-law, Monte & Poppy, and brother-in-law, Morgan, who both couldn't make it to the wedding. :( Monique's sisters, brother-in-law, and nieces/nephews to the right and step-siblings (and Lana's spouse :) to the left.

A beautiful picture... :)

Monqiue's nieces & nephews...if you can't already tell, I just love these kids! They're great! :)

Monique being handed over in marriage by her dad. You can see the Kendrick Mansion in the background. It's a museum now. It was just all a very pretty setting for a wedding!

Brent, Mo and Me...we have been the three partners in crime for a long time now. I'm glad we have this picture. :)

Monique & Daren with the parents...his folks on the left, Loren & Lil, and Mo's dad and stepmom on the right, Karen & Dave.

These girls just had a lovely time together. They're cousins who don't get to see each other all that often, but they're thick as thieves when they're together! It's great to see! :)

Monique with her dad, Dave, and her twin sisters, Melody (left) and Michelle (right).

Part of the get-away plan for Mo & Daren involved bubbles...some folks couldn't wait until the get-away to blow bubbles so there were bubbles everywhere for awhile. I love this picture because of the joy on Monique & Daren's faces. It's priceless! :)

More of those who were having too much fun with the bubbles. I hope they don't get after me for posting this picture. ha! :)

The guestbook table...the sign in the center said, "All because two people fell in love" and then they had pictures of parents, grandparents and great-grandparents surrounding it. Daren's family pics were on the right and Mo's were on the left (second picture below). It was neat to see! They also had the bottles of bubbles for later on as well as packets of wildflowers that you could take and plant in order to remember the day. On a side note...That's my arm you see in the picture. I was responsible for taking pictures of the guests so they could place the picture in the guestbook later on (next to the person's signature). I was also responsible for making sure that the children didn't take six tubes of bubbles at one time. That job was more tough than the picture taking. ha!

(Below) The picture of Monique & Daren is in the center...her dad & step-mom's wedding picture is to the right of that (just behind theirs) and her dad & mom's wedding picture is to the left of that (just behind theirs). Mo's mom passed away almost four years ago now and I thought that this was a nice way to remember her this day. In their wedding picture, she & Dave are around 18, I believe. Pretty close to that age, anyway, and quite YOUNG on that wedding day long ago. :)

A Friend, Amy, had asked about a picture of the cake in the previous post. There was no cake that day! Instead, Monique & Daren had milk and cookies!! The milk wasn't out yet, but you can see the bottles they used on the right (these were engraved with their name & wedding date and given out as thank-you gifts later on...I got one! Wahoo!) :)

The happy couple...

The food table...there were grapes, cheese & crackers, cold roast beef for sandwiches (with mustard or horseradish to add to your sandwich), asparagus, strawberry salad, and then these sticks of rosemary with mozzarella, artichoke and salami on them (like a kabob...I don't know how to explain them, really, but they were good). It was delicious!!

Miss Ivey, Monique's niece. She belongs to Michelle & Morgan...

The twin sisters, Melody (left) and Michelle (right).

Daren & his brother, Ryan.