Sweet Revenge

You may have seen this woman’s story on the news or read about her in the paper or you might recognize her from her INK Commercial.

To my knowledge she has nothing to do with guns and I certainly do not know her personally, but I love her story because it is a story of a woman who refused to be a victim and refused to give up.

Often times when we in the gun/self defense community talk about not being a victim we are referring to actually being attacked or physically harmed, but as I journeyed to gun ownership I found my biggest obstetrical was my own mind.  I have written about that many times in older post, but it bares repeating.

People who succeed in life have a mindset of never giving up.  Of never letting anything stand in their way and not letting anyone victimize them.  That does not mean they do not get hurt, or stumble or that they don’t ever doubt or struggle, but it means they will keep going no matter what.  That they will fight and if they have to, they will most certainly get Mean, I Mean Plum Mad Dog Mean.

I think I have that mindset, but I didn’t know it I did.  When I got scared, I freaked and retreated.  For me it was a fine line between giving in to fear, allowing myself to be terrorized by the idea of what could have happened to me and having the courage to fight.  Not just to avoid being harmed physically, but to have peace and joy.  To have control over my thoughts.

I was lucky because I had all the right people in my path.  As I searched myself and all around me, I found kind, strong, knowledgeable people who, many without knowing, gave me all the tools I needed to not only avoid becoming a life long victim, but also to thrive and smile in the face of the man who tried to take that from me.  Metaphorically speaking of course.

I think you all might enjoy this short article on this woman because she is a fighter, her food looks insanely good and she has a potty mouth.  I have found that gun folks have potty mouths.  I have developed a new appreciation for the “F” word since becoming a girl with a gun.  I am not sure I will start using it, but now when I hear it or read it, I kind of giggle and smile.  In a strange way, it gives me a little joy. 

Hope you get a little something from her spirit.

Sweet Revenge

All About My Man

I was pleasantly surprised to get an email asking about “My Man”  I giggled a bit when I read it, but of, course, who wouldn’t want to know more about this extraordinary person?!  Today seems like the perfect day to share a little about The Man behind The Girl And Her Gun.

He is also from a small town in Iowa.  He was a bit of a renegade, free spirit back when I met him.

He had the business in front, party in the back classic hair-do that screamed ladies man and, yes, he had the following of many young ladies to match.

We met at a friend’s 21st birthday party and to be honest, I was not impressed.  In fact, I remember telling my dad the next day about this total goofball I had met who seemed too interested me, but who I thought was too good looking and too popular for my taste.

Six months later, at the age of 20, we eloped to Colorado and I became his bride.

It’s your typical nerdy school girl meets gorgeous bad boy cliche that developed into a deep, deep passionate- thank- you- God -for- this- man -love- story.

He is hilarious, unless you ask one of his children, who will tell you with an eye roll, that he is in fact, not all that funny, but no one makes me laugh like him.

While his children will claim that is he is not at all funny, they often have a smile on their face when he is around and he is the very first person they go to if they need something fixed or a boo-boo kissed or a shoulder to cry on.

He is fiercely protective of me and the children.  He opens my door and orders my food. He gives me his coat and offers up his last bite of dessert to a special little girl with a big smile on her face. He gets me my first cup of coffee every morning and he insists on doing the dishes.  He carries a Glock and he knows how to use it.  He has a screw driver and a hammer and has no idea how to use them too. He is very steady and he calms me.  His presence makes me feel safe and somehow just being around him makes me feel both feminine and strong.

What might surprise you about him…he is a retired Marine without a single tattoo.  He makes a killer Martini, but rarely drinks.  He has amazing legs, and arms, and pecks, and, eyes, and, well you get the picture.

He does not have a wild side anymore, but he does cuss from time to time.  He also hates to argue, but does not have my fear of confrontation. He loves coffee, root beer, puff corn, and anything I cook, except…

my…

World

Famous

Berry Tart.

His least favorite thing to do is yard work and his favorite thing to do has to do with my “dirty” mind, but this is a family blog, so…

5 Ridiculous Gun Myths Everyone Believes Thanks To Movies

I just started watching gun movies and/or movies with guns in them and, of course, I don’t really know all the much about weapons in general, so I can not account for the accuracy of this article, but I thought it was a funny read.

Article

Hallelujah

My husband reads all my post and he laughs and tells me I am brilliant, cuz he is awesome that way.

However, yesterday after reading my post Bad, Bad, Day, he vetoed the body guard idea.

So, having to rely on my own skill and since I was not all that confident in it, I headed back to the range.

It turns our my man knows what he is talking about.  I organized all of my magazines and placed my target on the stand, took a deep breath and shot and shot and shot.

Looks pretty good and it certainly is a ton better than Saturday, but it wasn’t where I was aiming.  I shot a ton of rounds and still could not get it in the center or even higher than the center.  I think at one point my hands were completely over my head and still, I was shooting below where I aimed.

I understand I have a lot to lean and far to go on this journey, but shooting straight is fairly easy once you get the basics down and I have had the basics down and have shot straight before, so this was very annoying to me.

I kept saying to my husband I don’t understand.  I am looking at the front site, it is lined up, the target is fuzzy and I know I am not jerking my hand to the left or down.

The more I shot the more frustrated I became.  It wasn’t that I need more practice or that I was making a mistake that was bothering me.  Of course, I need more practice and, of course, I am going to make mistakes. I was frustrated because I had not clue how to fix what was wrong.  I kept aiming and shooting and yes, it hit in the same spot and was a nice little group, but I am perfectionist and kind of want to hit what I am aiming at.  I am sorta funny that way.

My husband told me to keep shooting and I did.  He was watching my arm and my hand and he said, I was not pulling, jerking, or anticipating, so he said “this is suppose to fun, just shoot”.  So, I did, then he shot a few rounds and then me, then him, then me and then, it finally hit him, my grip. 

MY GRIP

I was griping tight(but not too tight, settle down) and doing all the things I was suppose to, but my strong hand(for me that is my left) was not tight against the dovetail thingy, so when I pulled the trigger, it naturally was at an angle pointing downward.

See the little 5 target in the upper left corner?  See all the shots below it?  Those are mine before the grip change.

Please, nobody tell my shooting instructor.  I vaguely remember, from the ringing that is still in my ears, him yelling, I mean talking to me about my grip.

Also, don’t tell anyone it had been about 2 weeks since I had been to the range and clearly, 2 weeks was waaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy to long.

See all the shots on the 5 and pretty close to the it?  Those are mine after I corrected my grip.  I think I could have improved upon that, but I was out of ammo.  Only brought 250 rounds.  But, I left there with a big ol smile and a huge sense of relief.  I had a reason and something I could work on. 

Feeling mighty fine, we went home and my man made me a celebratory drink.

Gin, shaken, not stirred.

Then we cleaned

P.S.  I had one drink, I did not drink and clean, time had passed and there was no ammo.  I did not mix alcohol and guns in case you are wondering.

Bad, Bad, Day…

At. The. Range.

I do not know what happened to me on Saturday, but I could not shoot worth a lick.

My first 2 shots didn’t even hit the target or the board that holds the target.  That has NEVER happened to me before.  Not even the very first time I shot.

I was able to hit the target from then on out, but still not quite where I was aiming and it wasn’t pretty.

Like any new beginner, I blamed the gun.  There was nothing that happened to make me believe that the gun had somehow morphed into a complete mess, but I think it is much better to blame the equipment than me.  I mean who doesn’t think it is a good idea to avoid responsibility and make it someone or something else’s fault?

After a few more rounds, I became completely frustrated and a little sick to my stomach, so I handed the gun to my husband, who proceeded to shoot an entire magazine, dead center, with a grouping about the size of a quarter.

Yeah, it’s not the gun.

What I could not and still can not figure out, is what the heck happened to me??

In an attempt to make me feel better my husband took the small round target off the stand and put it up to his chest to show me, every shot would have killed the bad guy(just an aside, yes, we know that if we shoot a bad guy in the chest he won’t necessarily die, but that is our lingo for now.  In the chest means dead.)  My man also said that everyone has a bad day at the range, that I am over thinking it and to let it go.  Those shots are down range, can’t be recalled, so don’t even try.

So, for now, that is what I am going to try to do, but one more day like that and I am going to give some serious thought to just hiring a bodyguard.

Not Nice

You know how I said I don’t like mean people?  Well, I still don’t.

I went to the store the other day to buy ammo for my gun and some for my son’s rifle.  I am standing next to the case with all the ammo along with another gentleman, waiting.  The clerk comes over and asks him if he needs any help and he says, “no, I am just looking”.  The clerk walks away.  I said, “umm I could use some help”.

With a slight huff and a drop of his shoulders the clerk says- “What do you think you need?’

Me- “200 rounds of the range ammo and 1 box of the personal protection ammo.  Also some, .22 long…”

Clerk- interrupts me, “I don’t carry long unless it is a for a rifle.”

Me- “Right, it is for a rifle.”

Clerk- Looking at me through the top of his glasses, “Are you sure? you can’t return this stuff?”

Me- “Yes, I am sure, thank you.”

Clerk- He rolls his eyes.  I mean he literally rolled his eyes.

Now, I do not know this guy and I am not entirely sure what his problem was, but I am going to say from his body language and tone he used, he assumed I was a moron, probably because I am a woman.  I say this because the interactions he had with several of the male clients did not get the same kind of grumpy pants attitude that I was blessed to get.

First off, I did know what I was talking about.  There was nothing in  my demeanor or in my tone that would make you think I was nervous or unsure about what I was buying.  Just because a person is not a boy doesn’t mean they do not know what they are talking about.

Second, most of the time I have no idea what I am talking about.

I know my gun and that is about it.  I shoot the same exact kind of ammo every time and I pretty much only shoot my gun.  I am brand spankin’ new to this stuff and there is so much to learn.  If you want to show off how much you know or if you want to use your knowledge to show how little I know, this can be accomplished right quick and with my full cooperation.

I do not think it much matters if I know what I am talking about or not, it is not your job to make me feel stupid or uncomfortable regardless of my knowledge of said subject.

This is a lesson I taught my daughter years ago.  Being smart, skilled or knowledgeable in no way makes you better and it certainly does not warrant being an, if I cussed, I would say a word that starts with an A, but since I don’t I will just say grumpy pants.

This reminds me of when we lived on Camp Pendleton before 9-11 and before 100% ID checks were required.

The Marine Corps requires those who work and live on the military base to register their car and to then place a sticker on the windshield of the car.  They have different colors to distinguish enlisted Marines from Officers.  When a car comes through the gate, if the gate guard sees a sticker that says this is an Officer’s car, they are supposed to salute, regardless of who is actually driving the car.

Many times when I would drive through the gate the guard would assume I was the wife and not the military member and therefore would not salute. 

One time my daughter asked me if it bothered me that the guard did not salute since dad was an Officer  I explained that it did not bother me because I did nothing to deserve the salute.  I did not warrant the salute and I do not believe in privileges by association.

However, I also said that by the guard not saluting he is saying something about himself.

It is true that in every walk of life there are people who are not nice and who use their position to make others feel less and there are, of course, Officers and their wives who use their position to belittle enlisted Marines, but that should have no bearing on how one conducts himself.  To me when a Marine does not salute, he/she is showing that he/she is not proud of who he/she is. 

If I drive through the gate and there was no salute,  I would smile and nod and be on my way, but if I drove through the gate and some young Marine snapped to attention and saluted, I smiled and got teary eyed.  For 20 years my eyes welled up with tears every single time.  Not because I deserved it, but because he clearly had pride in who he was and what he did and there is very little that moves me more than a Marine who gets who he is.   Plus, seriously, who does not getting a little tingle when a Marine salutes??

My point is, even if my status or my knowledge is far less than yours, I deserve the same amount of courtesy as you. The same amount of courtesy I will always give you, regardless of how you treat me.

I wish I was a more willing to deal with possible confrontation because looking back, I should have politely told the clerk that I did not appreciate his attitude and I should have left without purchasing the ammo. I am not quite there yet, but I am beginning to think it is time for me to learn how to stand up for myself a bit more.

Family Fun

This is my 8 year old daughter shooting a .22 riffle at the range.  She loves guns and she love the color pink.

This is her shooting my Glock.  The .40 was a bit much for her and she was not a fan.

Me

My man

All About Me

I do not have all that many readers.  About 300 a month and you all are a shy group.  Instead of comments on the site, I get emails.  That’s ok, because I am actually surprised that folks are reading the blog at all and even more surprised that those who are reading the blog are curious about me.

Let me start by saying if you are curious about how I started to carry a gun daily you should go back and read the older posts.

With those first posts, my emotions are all over the place as I tried to figure out how to defend myself and come to terms with a thought process that was completely foreign to me.  As I have reread them, I can see they are long and rambly, but I keep them up because they are a true expression of the raw and intense emotions I was feeling at that time in my life.  I also think they show an accurate picture of my personality…I can be quite intense, a bit of a thinker, calm, but emotional and regardless of what anyone else think, I crack myself up.

To answer some of the other general questions about me, here we go…

I am in fact a girl with a gun.  I am from a tiny little town in Iowa.  I married a boy from Iowa and we moved to California courtesy of the United States Marine Corps.  We lived there about 10 years before being sent to the state we currently live in.  My man served honorably for 20 years.  He enlisted and served 7 years and then earned a Meritorious Commission.  He served the remainder of his time as an officer.  We have 5 kiddos, 3 of whom are adopted from China.  I am a former college professor turned full time mommy turned small business executive turned gun lover.

I am late coming to technology and do not really know how any of it works, but I am addicted to my iphone.  I have an awful memory and have to put everything in it. I wear out the reminder chime.

I am a bit of a health nut and love to run and work out.  I do not like soda or sweets of any kind, but I do have vices.  I go crazy for a good hunk of Ribeye fat and a martini.

I am passionate about the rights of children and our Constitution.  I love to learn about everything, but mostly about people and their lives.  I am fascinated by people and how they came to be who they are.

Other things I like…hiking, swimming with my kids, watching my daughter play volleyball, reading, and I love meeting my friends for a girl’s weekend.  I am a big fan of doing anything with my husband, but especially going to the range and just being.  I actually love doing homework with my little ones.  I get the biggest joy out of watching their minds work and grow.

Things I do not particularly like are people who are grumpy pants or just plain mean.  I know, no one likes that, but just thought I would mention it.  I do not like TV or movies, although I am beginning to appreciate some television shows and a new genre of movies.  In general though, I would much prefer being out and about doing rather than watching someone else doing. 

Let’s see, someone asked me what would surprise people about me and since no one really knows me I guess anything I said might surprise a person, but that is probably not what they are looking for…

So, let me give it a shot…I would say I am very conservative, both in my politics and my daily life style, but I have 3 tattoos and if conditions are right I can show my wild side.  I don’t cuss, but have a bit of a “dirty” mind, which not all people appreciate, but my husband loves.

My least favorite thing to do is argue with anyone or have any kind of confrontation(I am working on this) and my very favorite thing to do is laugh.

I wouldn’t say this is the complete picture, but it’s a good start.