Light egg nog

Egg nog always symbolizes the holidays to me and here is a way to make some yourself!!!

8 cups milk
1 pkg instant vanilla pudding
1/2 cup sugar or to taste
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg.

Mix or whisk together well and enjoy!!!

I am thankful for....

I am thankful for gorgeous Oklahoma sunrises.Friends and family, as well as myself who are able to fill their tags and have meat for the next year. (Did I tell y'all I shot an 8 point buck that will be going on the wall. It will be all by its lonesome since it will be the first on the wall!!!)

A family who is healthy.

A husband with whom I am totally in love with

(I think he loves me a little bit too).

Some wonderful friends and family who are friends too.

My girls who will cuddle no matter what.

A family who had adopted me as their own.

A country that is free.

Troops that are willing to fight to keep our freedom.

I am thankful for all of you!!!

I am thankful for this guy too. He keeps us on our toes when we are in the tree stand!

4 point buck

This weekend M and his grandpa went hunting and his grandpa came in with a nice buck. A four-point that was beautiful. He had more black than we are used to seeing so it was nice to see something different.

Shot Placement

This is such a big issue with any kind of hunting and I haven't posted about it yet so I here it is!

M has a spot that he looks for and I am the same way. I always shoot right behind the shoulder. This means that I will get the heart, lungs or possibly both. This will mean (most of the time) a good blood trail and a humane, quick kill. That is one of the points of being a sportsman.

I know that it is hard at times to make a perfect shot, but as good hunters we are always trying to make a good shot. This includes looking at your shooting lanes, deciding how far away things are if you don't have a range finder and knowing your limits as a hunter. I have been lucky that I haven't made a difficult or bad shot yet. YET being the key word. I have friends and my husband who have though and it makes them sick to lose a deer. Our rifle season is starting tomorrow so I thought that we should refresh ourselves on the proper shot placement.

Photo Credit

We all need to also remember that different calibers of guns cause different degrees of damage. Know what your gun (or bow!) will do and make it count.

This is an amazing article to read. http://www.imbmonsterbucks.com/info.php?id=143

Are there any questions or ideas for some upcoming posts? I know that I always have questions and am so thankful for the more seasoned hunters to help me out and allow me to pick their brains. I am willing for y'all to do the same!!!

Shutterfly!!!

The first time I heard about Shutterfly was 4 years ago. I was needing Christmas cards quickly and they delivered. The colors were amazing and they did a wonderful job. I got my cards in a protective envelope and they were in perfect shape. Then I had to do the rest of the work and get them addressed and out to all those people who were waiting!

I have chosen many different designs to go with the pictures that I had and have been happy with all of the cards. People would call me or send a note back in their Christmas cards about how cute mine were and where did I get them? I have always loved Shutterfly and have been impressed with their customer service also.
I am planning on sending these cards out to close friends or family this year. I don’t have a lot of time because of school, so as soon as I get the cards I will start working on getting them addressed and sent out to those I love. I am looking forward to the excited comments that I will be getting from those who are lucky enough to be on my Christmas card mailing list!!!

Right now photo books are 20% off and are an amazing way to document your year. These would be great gifts for those in your family. We are starting this year to make a book of all the deer that are harvested in our hunting group!!!

Their selection of Christmas cards is always amazing and this year is no different.

This is a card that I fell in love with!!! Can't you see a picture of the two girls on the front of this????

Or maybe this one!!! I love the black and white simple elegance of it!

This one is really cute too!! It could be put in your scrapbook and start a new tradition!

I love this one. The chocolate brown makes me think of the holidays!

It is going to take me a while to decide exactly which card I want to do, you know that the pictures just have to match!!! I do know one thing though. They do more than just Christmas cards. I have received birth announcements that were absolutely beautiful and invitations that were witty and whimsical. I will definitely be saving money and ordering graduation announcements and party announcements through Shutterfly. They have everything you can imagine. You can also get address labels, note cards, gift tags and almost anything else you can think of. Go check them out and see what they have. I know that I will be trying to figure out what I want for my 50 FREE cards that I will be getting!!!

Just Thursday!!!

Outside my window.. It is cold (37 but feels like 34) but the sun is shining.
The time is..9:19 am
Today I feel.. scattered
I am thinking.. about Kathy. Her cancer has spread and it isn't looking good. I would love for her to be here at Christmas but don't want her to be in pain like she is now.
At the moment, I am thankful.. for a husband who loves me and understands why I react the way that I do tonight.
I am going.. to see Kathy tonight.
I am wearing.. Dark brown khakis and a navy sweater.
I wish.. that I could not worry about the things that I can't change.
I am reading.. first, I am going to tell you what I have read since my last Just Thursday post!!! Genuine Lies by Nora Roberts, The Anniversary by Amy Gutman, Avenger by Frederick Forsyth and Waterloo Station by Emily Grayson. Now I am trying to find something to read and just haven't found something that looks good yet!!!
I am working on..finishing a couple projects for a baby's room and have decided to do two more for some blog friends.
I am hoping..that I can find out what I am going to do for the next year soon.
I am hearing..the radio, light rock.
I bet you didn't know..my husband killed two doe in a bonus hunt yesterday. I want to get one with my bow and I am done with shooting for the season unless it is a HUGE buck. And I hopefully will have satellite back tomorrow night. My receiver decided to die a couple nights ago...
One of my favorite..foods is pasta. I have to quit eating so much of it!!!
Weekend Plans..
[Thursday] hospital
[Friday] movie night
[Saturday] test and movie night
[Sunday] possibly hunting and watching a movie.
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Forked horn (Four Point) named Circles

Meet Circles! He is called this because of his tendency to walk in circles! M saw him the week before I shot my big buck and he walked circles in front of him. When we got home we matched him to one of the four points on the trail cam.

He was the deer that my eight point was fighting and ran when I shot. Within 15 minutes he was back out in front of me, walking circles! I can't wait to see him grow up. In a couple years I wouldn't mind harvesting him for the meat and the pretty set that he will have to put on the wall. He is a perfectly matched four point right now, so I can't wait to see what he will grow up to be.

This weekend starts rifle season in Oklahoma. Can't wait to see what I can get then!

Tree Stands - Which is Best?

I have seen a lot of pre-made tree stands that are nice but we tend to build our own. I have nothing against the pre-made stands, we can just made stands for cheaper. I have shown you a picture of one of my stands in the header but I am going to show the inside of my favorite stand today. It is basically a box that I sit in so I can move a little or do things with my hands. Or I can change out the primer that doesn't go off the first time I pull the trigger on a big buck... I was so thankful that I was in this stand when that happened.

This is where I normally sit in this stand. It is the back side that is up against the tree. I set my bag right beside me and lean against the tree. Can anyone guess what kind of camo I am wearing????The picture to the left is the left side of the stand. The picture on the right is the front/right side of the stand. I can sit on either side and face west or the east. It makes this stand very versatile and a wonderful stand to be in.

There is only one thing that can make this stand better-a food plot! We are planning on planting one in front to the east so that I can bow hunt out of this stand easier.

M hunts out of a metal stand on this same property. I have a metal stand at another property we hunt at as does M. Then at our leased land we have basically a tree house with a roof over us so we can hunt easier in the rain.

I am open to trying new stands and new ways to hunt if anyone has any suggestions.

Doe Days of Fall

M drew out for a bonus hunt and his grandpa went with him. Texting back and forth on the way down to tell me where they were and then I get this.

These geese were all over. This would be good if he were hunting snow geese, but his hunt is for two doe!!! That is okay though, they sure are a pretty sight to see! I do know that they have seen a deer already, a buck. I hope he gets a couple doe to put in the freezer though!

I'm BAAAAACK!

I have been on vacation for the pat two weeks and was super busy doing all the stuff that I needed to catch up on. I was wanting to can but didn't get to... Hopefully this weekend.

I am ready to get back to blogging but for now I leave you with this. This was one of my hunting buddies during black powder season. He was there before I shot my deer.

He actually just about made me fall as I was getting up! I didn't really want to get stung and jerked back as I was getting ready to pull myself on up into my stand. Apparently he was good luck this time!

Has anyone else gotten any deer lately?