Two weekends left, two weekends left, two weekends left...

This week was great, but I'm finding myself melancholy tonight. Tim left for their hunting camp Thursday night, and I'm facing another weekend without help. The thought ran through my mind earlier this week that I should try to hire a babysitter for Saturday, but my go-to girl was already taken. I need some second and third string gals to fall back on :). The big game in our college town, the Montana State Cats vs. University of Montana Griz football, is tomorrow and I'm so jones-ing to go. Of course, good luck finding a ticket, but I have a feeling it'd be easier finding a ticket than a babysitter! Anyway, I'm having one of those mini midlife crisis when you have that glimpse of the old You, getting ready for some good ol' adult fun. Not even that I partake in much craziness - heck, I gave up drinking a couple years ago - but I miss that more carefree lifestyle of little responsibility.

Speaking of responsibilities, don't they seem to multiply for us Hunting Widows during the rutt? The husband/hunter leaves, and ll of a sudden the dog or the kid is sick, the water heater quit, there's a foot of snow on the driveway that needs to be shoveled, the floor that you vacuumed 2 hours ago is dirty, and there's no food left in the fridge. It's hard not to get bitter about them leaving. Not every woman has the luxury of taking a weekend "off", be it due to kids, finances or obligations. My ideal weekend would be to dash off to Chico for a couple days with Josie and eat some great food and soak in the hotsprings and forget about all the chores I should do here at the house. BUT, that would cost a couple hundred bucks, money that's already been spent on gas to and from various hunting spots this month alone.

Tim accidentally lost his camera last week. This is a very sad ordeal because it was an expensive and very nice camera. I bought it for him before Josie was born. He thinks it was stolen out of his pickup (Lock your doors even if your car is parked in the driveway!!!), and I'm a little unimpressed. My mom called me to let me know that QVC has a kick-butt camera on sale for today only. I'm torn: I miss the good camera, and this QVC one has interchangeable lenses which would be awesome, but there's this "Mom" part of me that is insisting, "No, he is the one who leaves his pickup doors unlocked all the time, he should sacrifice a couple month's worth of gas and pay for the camera himself." Is that childish? I think the whole self-entitlement of getting to go hunting whenever he wants with no strings attached is starting to grate on my nerves this season (the grammar in that sentence is HORRIBLE, but I hope you get what I mean!). I felt bad the other day for spending $100 on new clothes - clothes that I needed. He doesn't think twice about spending $120 on gas in one weekend. It is beyond me how hunting is not factored into the monthly budget in any way in their minds. And, if I bring it up to him and let him know that I would like to spend $120 on something, too, he tells me "It's not a contest." (I'll show YOU contest...)

So, what's a girl to do? My step 1 is to find a couple of babysitters who I trust. I know Josie likes to go with me all the time, but seriously I need some time with adults. 'Cuz I'm not getting much time with the other adult in the house! Step 2 is to start scheduling some sort of date night. Even this one makes me roll my eyes, plus that's one less night for us with Josie, but I'm kind of feeling taken advantage of in this whole relationship at the moment. It'd be nice to make him focus on me for an hour or two. Perhaps I wouldn't get so bitter. ***This may be leftover feelings from Tim not making any plans for my birthday, in fact, being gone until 6pm said birthday night.*** Step 3 is I need to plan some alone time. This does not include being the only one in the house not asleep yet!!! It means a couple hours with no responsibilities. Seriously. Not that I have a ton of responsibilities, but just some time to clear my head.

Here's to rank, stinky old mule deer buck meat. Yum, yum! :-)

...I ventured out hunting on Saturday.  For a moment I asked myself "Am I a traitor?", but quickly came to my senses with an affirmative NO.  I occasionally go hunting with my hubby - actually, clarification - my husband occassionally TAKES me hunting (there is a big difference!)  I go 3 or 4 times a year, which is about how many times he goes a WEEK.   So, yes, I am still undoubtedly a bonafide Hunting Widow.  I have to admit I had a great time and for a few specific reasons....

First, I realized that I don't tag along with my husband when he goes hunting, nor does he want me to.  He TAKES me hunting.  There is no way on earth I would go along with him the way he goes.  And thank goodness, he realizes that and for the sake of our relationship, he accomodates me and tailors a day that will not make me vow to never go again.  it is actually really nice to have him take care of all of the details.  I don't know about other wives/moms/hunting widows, but 99% of the time I am the one who makes all of the arrangements, figures out the details, schedules social events and dates.  Which at times, I admit, takes the fun out of it.  That's the beauty of when he takes me hunting.  Saturday he arranged for our little girl to go to the grandparents for the day, he packed a cooler with snacks, made me coffee, had my hunting gear packed up and hunting clothes laid out.  We drove around scouting and listened to a Dave Ramsey CD, had 80's radio trivia and drank coffee.  We were antelope hunting, so there weren't any monsterous hikes and we only drove about an hour from our house at the furthest point.  We didn't have to get up at 3am and drive for 3 hours before the day even started. 

When we did get out and start chasing - er, I mean stalking - the antelope, he was very patient and considerate with me.  I'm just getting comfortable with a gun and hadn't handled it much over the last year, so he was helpful without being bossy or demanding.  I have to give him credit - whether it was thoughtfully planned out or just happened to turn out that way (which either way I don't care!) the day was perfect for me.  Not too much - which I'm sure most of you hunting widows can relate... our dear hunters seem to be overboard with everything about hunting, so it was a pleasant surprise to have it low-key and fun.  We got a ton of exercise in and it was just an enjoyable day.  I think there should be a guide for husbands on how to take your wife hunting without making her hate hunting (or you!) more!  Anyways, it may sound too fairy-tale like (especially for a seasoned hunting widow, mid-November!) and perhaps when I come down from the glow of actually having my husband's undivided attention for 8 hours in the month of November, perhaps my re-telling of it may not be as sugar-sweet, but for now I'm going to enjoy it...I'm sure once he's MIA for several days in a row out roaming around a mountain somewhere while I'm at home bogged down with the daily hum-drum my tune will change! 

Coming Soon... the best workout EVER!  The 400yd antelope stalk... :) 

You know, I had it the other day. I was so tired of having absolutely no control over the remote in my house. It was either cartoons or hunting or UFC. I realized how much time was wasted in front of the boob tube and we're all zoning out instead of interacting with eachother (it's not like we watched anything exciting, like Project Runway!). So I cancelled it. No more cartoon marathons. No more "whisper channel" (that's the hunting shows - great name, huh!?) and no more foul language and nasty men trying to kill each other. It really is nice, in my little world :-). I seem to have enough thoughts and tangent thoughts and lists and what not going on in my head that I don't need anymore background noise...

I'm am so humbled and blessed by the wonderful response we have had from the Bozeman Chronicle's Lifestyle feature on Hunting Widow Wednesday. People are coming out of the woodwork and giving us kudos and compliments :-). I think it's the perfect time of the year for the Hunting Widows out there to hear about the HW mission, and to read other women's comments. Such as this, sent to me by Rayanne of www.simplehomeinmontana.com:

"Love your article----and from an old widow to you young ones....it doesn't get any better!! My husband refuses to bag an elk too early in the season as he wants to make sure he gets to hunt the WHOLE season!! He purchased the shower this year---I had to laugh! Good luck with it all -- and you're right, the only way to cope, is to accept that they will eventually come home!! LOL Best to you--Rayanne"

And click this link, http://www.huntingwidow.com/forum/222979/1945036, to read a heartfelt comment by a new HW.com member. No, ladies, you're not alone - some of our husbands are just plain obsessive about hunting, and it does tend to drive a woman crazy :-).

Thank you everyone for supporting us!!!

With Love, Amber

... Rifle Season opens! The plans, the partnerships, the scouting, the preparing, oh my! Who's going where, when exactly, with whom, and why. What did you see, how big was it, were there any more?

I was hoping to leave the insanity this weekend for a workshop in Spokane for Mary Kay, but luck has it that I'm to stay here with my beautiful daughter. No problem, I was just wishing to escape it :). The excitement is definitely in the air, all around town. The watching of hunting shows on TV is at a maximum (I'm really close to getting rid of the satellite - I'm so tired of watching cartoons and hunting shows!), and there's bullets on my coffee table.

Which reminds me of something funny: Tim and I have a disagreement about the number of shed horns that look good in a 1500sqft house. There's one spot in particular that he's fond of decorating with a precariously set elk horn that he found. I can agree that it's pretty cool to find a shedhorn that size and of that quality, and that he's proud of it. But seriously, does it need to be on top of the entertainment center? It does have the option of falling and impailing someone below. So I move it to the garage. And mysteriously it appears again. *sigh*

The boys are victorious! There are currently 2 elk hanging in my garage! And an air conditioner in my garage window - it's a little warm outside this week, and Tim didn't want the meat to spoil. I'm afraid that I am going to miss out on the meat-cutting extravaganza, though; I'm heading to my parents' farm with Josie. Drats! Oh, meat-in-my-freezer, I've miss you! :)

Here I thought Tim was going to be out in the mountains until Sunday night, so I made plans for Josie and I to drive to my folks' place. I guess Tim will still get some alone to go chase other animals that he has a tag for. One stipulation, the meat currently hanging in our garage must be dealt with before ANOTHER animal can be added to the mix :).

On a funny side note, Josie and I were running errands today, and I told her that Daddy and Jared were home and their elk were hanging out in the garage. She said, "Are the elk walking around in the garage?" It made me laugh because she saw the elk "hanging out" in the garage instead of hanging in the garage. Just reminds me how literal the little kiddos are!

OK, it's more like "Where's Tim" but that didn't have much of a punch for a title. Between work, scouting and hunting, my daughter can't seem to keep track of her daddy! It's so good to see him have something to be passionate, though. I love seeing the get ready - it reminds me of my 3-year old daughter getting ready to leave to go to her friend's house for a playdate. Much the same attitude and air of excitement :-)! And there's lots of running around and asking me "where's this, where's that."

We're all getting ready to pack up and head to Alder, MT to meet Sheri and her fam. Now that they have the fabulous camper (such a luxurious way of camping!) we're going to set it up at the KOA and use it as HQ for us and the hunters. We're taking the girls to the Dillon Fair and to Virginia City. There's going to be a lot of spoiling going on this weekend, I can already tell!

Turkey opens this Saturday and Spring Bear the following Wednesday.  I should be grateful – and I am – for the time we had without “real” hunting going on.  Oh, of course, there was some duck hunting, coyote hunting and spotting is year around.  But with the holidays and winter, we got some great family time, skiing and sledding in.

Honestly, I’m a little looking forward to it.  I’m totally gearing up for garage saleing, antiquing and some spring gardening.  Sounds like such a boring old lady life, but anything’s exciting with either my little three year old sidekick or my best girlfriends.  A little freedom accompanies the beginning of hunting widow season in that I can make all my own plans for the weekends.  We spend every other weekend or so trying to incorporate some of our best hunting widow ideas (i.e. seeing our hubbies), but I also spend time indulging myself with things I love to do that my husband doesn’t seem to go for.   Girls and kids dinner parties, plays, antique stores, window shopping, hot springs soaking, lattes, painting, etc.  Being in Montana, there is not a shortage of other hunting widows to plan and spend time doing some pretty fun stuff.  As we progress, we’ll share some ideas.  But for now, I am looking out the window as my husband and daughter take off on the 4-wheeler to go shoot gophers with their bows.  My daughter’s only has suction cup tips, but it doesn’t stop her from getting can’t contain herself excited to get out and kill some gophers.  …actually, she’s a really good shot.

Off to get something done while the mighty hunters are off “feeding the family”!

sheri

 Sheri and I decided mid-February to launch our new brand, Hunting Widow®, at the International Sportsmans Expo (ISE) March 12-15, 2009. With only a month to prepare, we opted to forego renting a booth and hit the Expo guerilla-market-style. With a fresh sticker emblazing a "HuntingWidow'ism" on the back of my 4Runner, we embarked at 5:30am on Thursday morning. We thought we'd make it to our friends' house by noon... well, more like 2pm... The Fort Hall casino called our names as we gassed up the truck in Idaho. Not often are we daughter-less on our travels together, and the lurr of slot machines was just too much :-)! $22 lighter, we left with 2 lemonades and me losing my keys (or so I thought). We searched the casino, then fished out the hidden key, searched the truck, THEN I decided I should search my purse again, and the keys were found safe and sound. ***comedy-of-error-#1, with more to come!***

The rest of Thursday was spent shopping with good friends at the outlet malls in Park City, then preparing for the day to come. We were prepared to hit the Expo hard on Friday, but ended up chatting with our good friend until early afternoon. We were not worried about arriving on time, but comedy-of-error-#2 was about to strike. It's funny how extremely hard it is to find something in an unknown city. We needed copies of our flyers, and COULD NOT find a Fedex/Kinkos, Staples or OfficeMax to save our lives! We even ended up getting lost, until we pulled out our super-duper map which had the Expo's location symbolically labeled for us. Back on the right track, we easily found the Fedex/Kinkos we so wanted to visit, and quickly copied the flyers. Onto the show!

We plastered cars with flyers (free stickers, too, if the car was definitely owned by an HW!), and then we headed inside. A little overwhelming, to say the least! There were SO MANY vendors there, it was astonishing. We knew we wanted to convey our vision of Hunting Widow to these vendors, but we had no idea how they would accept it. Luckily for us, the show was jampacked with amazing people, which definitely helped our caffeine-riddled selves deliver our shpeals! We met some definitely note-worthy outfitters and vendors, and we will feature them and their photographs in the next blog entry. A big THANK YOU goes out to them for recognizing the Hunting Widows out there!!!

Friday night ended very late, with a groggy drive to Chili's where we sorted through the day's catch of business cards and contacts. Eating super cheesy nachos and drinking O'Douls, we scoured the Expo's program and planned our strategy for the next day - Busy Saturday. We'd heard near-urban-legends of how busy the weekend days of this Expo were. Prepared to arrive in time for me to register for the fly-casting contest, we tried to wake our tired selves up early on Saturday. I threw my HW Hoodie (a must-have, by the way!) in the wash that morning, and drank coffee with the friends. After showers and new clothes, we felt ready to tackle the day and our goals we had set the night before.

The trip to the Expo was MUCH quicker this time, but not quick enough for me to join the fly-casting contest (I could tell I wasn't on top of my game - I was getting a cold - and I needed all the energy I could muster for HW promoting). We scouted around to hit the top booths that we'd missed the day before, take pictures with the awesome vendors and outfitters who were our faves, and place a sticker on every vehicle inside the building :-). One of those happened to belong to Adam Eackle of "Rugged Outdoors" on KUTV2, Salt Lake City, whom we ended up bumping into on our way out of the Expo. But alas, I need to mention Comedy-of-error-#3. Around 2pm, we decided to leave, hit a coffee shop, regroup, and come back. Apparently there are NO coffee shops in that area of SLC. We ended up driving all the way to the Fashion Mall, where we had one bizarre-experience after another. Finally, 2 HOURS LATER, we made it back to the Expo. By then, Sheri and I were pretty drained, and my eyes were half shut because of the sinus issues my new cold was giving me. Hit the last of the vendors we loved, and started out the door. We practically ran into Eackle and his cameraman interviewing a couple of attendees holding elk-horn lamps, and we knew we had to get his attention. He was the last person on our goal list we wanted to hit, but we hadn't seen him until NOW, on our way out! We practically tackled him with hellos and explanations, and he said he'd actually heard of us that weekend from people at the Expo, and he'd thoughtfully noticed our sticker on his pickup!!! Our guerilla marketing made an impression! ~~~ More on that wonderful talk later ~~~

We left the Expo, feeling elated but exhausted. We'd hit everyone on our goal list - and more - and the trip was a crazy-success. Our workload had now exponentially increased, but we were happy. That night, we got to spend some more quality time with our friends. The next day, Sheri put the pedal to the metal, I opted for the passenger seat, and we headed home to our girls and our hunters. It was a better ending for the weekend than we had ever dreamed; we were not prepared for the exhaustion that followed. The cold that I brought home with me got passed around to everyone in our families, then came back to bite me with bronchitis (I'm pretty sure fishing in the rain with my fam didn't help last Sunday...). Due to the busy schedule of Sheri's day job and my lethargy, we're finally adding the content we want to supply for HWs interested in the site. Tune in again this week for pictures and stories about our favorite vendors and outfitters from the Expo!!!