Friday found me in Houston at the SPE Sporting Clays shoot.
It was hot.
It was muggy.
I was in hormonal woman meltdown mode.
Until this girl, my friend Jenaya, won this...
Yup. AND a $500 gift card. She had a very, very, very good day!
And, I had a good day, as well. I shot an 81/100. Not bad for picking up my shotgun for the first time in almost a year. While melting.
I was happy.
To top it all off, my coworker Chesney ordered us these cute pink shooting shirts - we were the only all-woman team at the shoot. Jenaya, Chesney, Joy and Janie! We had a great time!
Bring it, shooting season! We got this!
I love small town truck stops.
You never know what you're going to see there.
I saw this t-shirt, and it made me smile.
Heck, it made me wanna go shoot my shotgun. I'm a little behind this year, anyway.
Love the smell of shotgun smoke!
So, y’all know, by now, I spent part of last weekend cleaning, ditching, packing, giving away and mailing unwanted goods.
I last shot my shotgun at the AADE DFW Sporting Clay Shoot at the Dallas Gun Club in August. I love going there, it’s a good shoot, and the custom fit hearing protection people are always there, ready and willing to take your hard-earned $$$ and fill your ears full of funky colored wax (you get to choose your colors) and create, just for you, your own special version of custom-fit hearing protection.
Best thing since Blue Bell Cookies N Cream Ice Cream, I’m telling you.
I think I might have ordered my 6th pair, overall, this year.
Pair 1 & 2, probably 10 years ago. Pair 1, with baffles, for shooting/hunting. Pair 2, no baffles, for high noise frac jobs.
The only problem with having multiple pairs is when your son can wear the EXACT same pair of custom fit hearing protection. They tend to disappear if y'all are on a mom/son shooting date/excursion. (Oh, Mom. I wore them by mistake to the team roping that night.) (What?)
So, back down to Pair 1, muy pronto.
Next year, at a shoot, I ordered another set. Then, later that year, one side fell off the keeper string while hunting. Or, heck, you make up the story. I'll believe it, I promise.
Anyway, somehow I again ended up with ONE pair. And at the AADE DFW shoot this year, post shooting our rotation, we were running around. Went to Bass Pro. Because, you know, we don't have one of them thair fancy stores here in the West of Texas. Got back out to the range. All of a sudden, I’d lost 1/2 my hearing protection. I felt like a bad fishing trip...you know, like when you pull that beautiful taut line out of the water and...there's nothing on that hook? Yeah. Me.
So, I trucked over to the trailer, and did the “Please, please, pack my ears full of that cute purple and pink wax, and I’d like a purple string, please sir. I’ll pay you to do that.”
Followed by 7 minutes of looking stupid, sitting in a chair, trying to figure out if everyone around you is talking TO you, or ABOUT you, or really doesn’t even give a flip that you’re sitting there looking super goofy.
All this story to preface another. Lordy.
So. Back to the closet, this weekend, the one closet where years of purses are stacked to the max. One of my helpers says, “You gonna attack those purses? Because I won’t go buy one if you have one I like that you no longer want.” Or some wheedling whining hopeful remark like that.
So, I give her a look, and dove in.
I go through each purse. I dig out money, dental floss (unused), combs, Jane Iredale lip gloss (now that, people saved me some bucks!), and of all things, a set of custom fit hearing protection. Just rolled up, not in its special little case, just sitting in a purse. In the zipper part. You know, for protection.
ChaCHING!!!!
So excited!
They look relatively new, too!
So, now, in this fall of 2013, I’m ahead 3.5 pairs.
Don’t even ask.
I’m HAPPY, people. Happy! Happy! Happy!
Huh?
What did you say?
I dread one sporting clay shoot per year. And I leave tomorrow to go shoot in it. It's the DFW American Association of Drilling Engineers sporting clay shoot at the beautiful Dallas Gun Club. Shooting? FUN. Usually.
But people...it's August. There are a lot of trees. And no breeze.
And I am a hormonal woman. Just saying.
This comment on a business email sent earlier today to a Pennsylvania client, and penned by moi, sums it all up.
It's hard enough for a desert girly to shoot where there are trees. Compound it with hard driving rain, in the beautiful state of Pennsylvania? And then try to add vendor business?
Not a good combination. I'm glad Franklin has a good sense of humor. And pardon my picture - can you tell I'm DRENCHED?
That's my shooting buddy Daniel in the background. I always shoot with he, his dad Tommy, and John when I'm at the Appalachian Blast. Fun stuff!
PS - Guys can look good no matter the weather. Not. Fair.
Just returned from a great trip to the wonderful P of A...I love that state!
My new boss flew us up in his jet, we were super busy with appointments and sales calls, which I LOVE! Thursday afternoon, I attended the National Board meeting for the American Association of Drilling Engineers.
This meeting was, wonderfully, followed the next day by the AADE Appalachian “Blast”, the Appalachian AADE’s sporting clay tourney benefiting the Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital. We did have a blast. The tourney was held at Hunting Hills Gun Range in Hunting Hills, Pennsylvania. Beautiful.
It was the first time I ever shot sporting clays in hard, pouring rain. Vendors manned stations, and cooked all sorts of good food: bacon-wrapped quail, jambalaya, bacon-wrapped scallops, pulled pork deep fried egg rolls, and much more. I have mentioned that the drilling group likes to eat, haven't I? Well, we do!
The shoot was really fun, even with all the rain! I shot at 9 am, and by 6 p.m. when we arrived at our friends’ house, I was still soaking wet.
I learn something on every trip. Here are my discoveries from this one:
- If you’re traveling in a private jet, it pays to have superb pilots. Especially when they’re trying to land between two huge thunderstorms, and the tower gives them clearance on a runway where another plane is trying to take off. Thanks, y’all - good eye! You’re amazing!
- If you have to travel on business, having good friends in the area makes your trip super sweet. My friends John and Suzan are amazing. It was so fun to hang with them, and I learned to play the domino game “Shoot The Moon”. I didn’t do too badly at it, either! Love y'all. And tell Patches the kitty that the Wonderdogs went ballistic because she had been in my suitcase, haha!
- I got to see my good friends Tommy, Deb, and Daniel. I think of them, and start to giggle. We had some really funny stuff happen. Another story, another day! Love you guys.
- If you decide to buy ammo in Pennsylvania, especially if you’re buying for multiple people, plan ahead and locate your ammo dealer in that area. Because you might have to buy multiple boxes instead of flats of ammo...and that’s IF they have any in stock.
- If you're going to a shooting tourney and there's a good chance of rain, take (1) another change of clothes and (2) don't bother to fix your hair. Just wear a ball cap. You'll come out ahead and get 30 minutes extra sleep.
- I only shot a 70/100. I need to practice more. Of course, I could always blame it on the trees.
- If you’re traveling with your shotgun, be sure to take cleaning cloths, a cleaning snake, gun oil, etc. I was woefully unprepared to properly clean my gun and protect it post shoot. Hey, don’t be hating...I’m a desert chick. It doesn’t rain out here, people. I clean my gun when I get home. (Not this time!)
- Corporate jets are the Way.To.Travel. Yesterday morning, wheels up at 8:30 a.m. EST, home by 10:30 am CST. Smooth, beautiful flight, great company...it was awesome. Did I mention I didn’t even have to pack my shotgun in a travel case? Suhweeeeet. Thanks, Bossman!
I love Pennsylvania...it is so very beautiful. And I LOVE the people, especially my compadres in the Oilfield. I cannot wait to go back.
