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

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.

I have a personal FaceBook page under my real name.  I only have 20 friends on that page because I post information about where we live and about our kids, so I only accept people that we both know and have a close relationship with.  I am very protective of my kiddos and up until recently I have been a pretty private gal.

As I have posted more and more comments on different gun related FaceBook pages, I have been receiving a lot of friend requests from people I don’t know.

One of the best things about the internet is that it can bring us closer to people that we never would have had a chance to meet. I have met some very neat gun people through the internet, which I am grateful for.  I get excited to meet new people.  I love learning about other people, their lives and experiences, but I am still protective of my family, so with help from That Texas Lady, I created a FaceBook page that I can use to post comments and make new friends without exposing my kids to the public me.

The page, not surprisingly is called, A Girl And Her Gun.  

I just created it today, so I have not really posted yet, as no one knows it is there, however, if you would like to follow my daily haps instead of just reading my occasional ramblings, then you can like the page and we can be friends!!!!

Hope to see you all there…

On my ever increasing quest to learn all I can about guns and everything related to them.  I have stumbled across a few neat sites. 
 http://www.weapon-blog.com 
A list of the different gun related give a-ways and contests

http://thattexaslady.blogspot.com/
Neat blog about a woman’s journey to conceal carry

http://guns.com
Lots of fabulous articles on all things gun

http://www.thecrush.tv/
A hunting show featuring a couple from Iowa

That Texas Lady: How About A Give Away???: “Since it is Wednesday and my CHL requirements are gathered and mailed and since my gun is at Ruger and I have nothing better to do. I though…”

 Fuuny, the NRA just posted this story about guns on college campuses.

http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2011/jun/05/jo_pro_campus_guns_060611_139864/

My daughter, who is 13, and if you remember from an earlier post, is pretty anti-gun, attended a school assembly last week.

The focus of the assembly was safety in school  and the community, so the school had invited the local sheriff to come speak to the kids.  After his presentation, he asked if anyone had any questions.

My daughter raised her hand and ask him, “How do you feel about guns in school?”

He said, “I think the schools are safe with the armed security guard that walks the campus.”

Not satisfied with that answer, she again raised her hand and asked, “But, how do you feel about people having guns in school, to protect themselves?”

Officer, “You mean the students?”

My daughter, “I mean the teachers and staff.  Do you think if the laws would allow for law abiding citizens to carry then the tragedy at Virgina Tech could have been prevented or at least not as bad as it was?”

Officer, “I do think if a teacher had a gun, it could have lessened that situation, yes.”

My daughter, “What about parents?”

Officer, “I would have to think about that.”

My daughter, “You haven’t thought about it?  You don’t think if a parent is a law abiding citizen and has their conceal to carry license,  they should be allowed to have their gun with them at a school, where it is becoming more dangerous?”

Officer, “Yes, I would say if the parent had the proper license they should probably be allowed to carry at the school.”

Fellow student, “Cool, how old do you have to be to get one of those licenses and carry a gun?”

My daughter, “21 for conceal carry and 18 for open carry, in the state of…”

Officer, “That is correct.  You sure know your stuff.”

When our daughter got home from school, she could not wait to tell us this story.  She said, mom, I was very respectful, but I thought it was important that I find out how he felt about your right to carry.

For me this story is less about guns and my rights and more about who my daughter is.  It moved me to see that my husband and I are raising a child who is civic minded, bold, and respectful.

Regardless of what this sheriff thought or what his answers were, she had the courage and poise to ask what could have been a controversial question and she asked in front of her teachers and peers.

What I love about this story is, that clearly my daughter, who disagrees with me, on the issue of carrying a gun where ever I go, respects my rights to do so.

I love that while we do not agree on an issue, she not only isn’t trying to change my mind, she is checking to be sure my rights are not going to be violated by those in charge of enforcing the laws. 

I love that she understands that just because she feels a certain way that does not mean she has the right to force that opinion on others.

I love that she is listening.

I love that she has respect for the laws that govern our land.

I love that she understands how important The Constitution is and how important it is for all of us to uphold it’s values.

 I absolutely love that I am her mom.

I have talked before about how I lived a life of “Ignorance Is Bliss” and generally felt safe in my day to day life until I encountered an occasion that put my safety in question.  After that time, I lived in fear and had a very hard time relaxing regardless of where I was, who was with me, or the number of weapons that I had access to.

I remember at my Conceal Carry class, sitting inside this tiny shack in a fairly remote location and thinking, “What on earth would I do, if a gang of wild banshees came and attacked us right now??”  We all had guns and lots of ammo, but none of the weapons were loaded and from time to time, I would let my wonder to the wild banchee invasion.  My mind had us attacked and killed half a dozen times.

Fear is no way to live and neither is ignorance.  I have done a variety of things in an attempt to be more safe , but I also needed to feel more safe.  I already wrote about how feelings can lie and just because one feels safe, doesn’t make them safe, but how I feel, real or otherwise, has a direct connection to my state of mind, peace, and happiness.

Up until our vacation at the beach, I had been reacting instead of acting.  I would read something, assume it was true and then do it, only to find it it wasn’t quite right, at least not for me.  That modus operandi was exhausting and deflating and was no way to live either. 

At the beach I had time to reflect. I had calmed down a bit and I was able to put my grocery store parking lot experience into perspective.  I was able to slow down and take the time to think about what I was reading and being taught. I was able to find balance.

I tend to be very black and white and very right is right and wrong is wrong kind of gal.  So, if I believe something is right I do it, 100% of the time and if something is wrong, I don’t do it. 

I always like to share this story because I think it is a good illustration of how my mind works.  When I was a brand new professor I had to attend an orientation for the college I was going to be teaching at.  During the orientation we went on a tour of the campus to include the staff lounge.  In the lounge was a fancy coffee machine.  This was quite a few years ago and before the individual coffee pod thing had caught on.  So, the head chicky poopoo that was giving the tour, showed us how it worked. 

Put your cup under the spout, select coffee flavor, put in machine, hit button, throw away empty pod, enjoy. 

Simple enough. 

A few days later on my first day, I went into the lounge to get a cup of coffee. I put my large travel mug under the spout, selected my coffee(dark roast, no foofoo flavor), pushed the button and enjoyed.  The coffee was yummy, but the pods were small and only filled my cup up about half way.  I was slightly annoyed because the campus was large and I would have to keep heading back there to get my coffee fix.  Then one day, there was another professor ahead of me getting his coffee and I saw him get a pod, push the button and wait, then he pulled the pod out and put another one in and pushed the button again!! 

TWO PODS!! 

It never occurred to me to use another pod.  It wasn’t that I thought 2 pods was wrong or that we were not allowed to have 2 pods, it was that it never, ever occurred to me to get another pod.  I was told the procedures. 

Get “A” pod and put “IT” in the machine.

I am like that.  I follow rules.  I believe in rules.  I think they are necessary and when I make a rule, I want it to be followed, so I am very respectful when other people make rules.  Also, I do not like to be in trouble.  I do not like getting yelled at.  I did not like sitting in time out.  I do not want to lose my job or go to jail or even pay a speeding ticket, so for me it is much easier to just follow the rules.

Carrying a gun often puts the things I value and believe in conflict.
One of those being, I believe I should be able to to carry my gun where ever I go and I believe that I am safer and my family is safer if I do so, but of course, there are laws that prevent me from doing so.

I hate having to make the choice between protection and the law, but for me the choice is not to break the law.

Knowing that I can not carry in certain places left me feeling vulnerable and a bit paranoid about going to those places and since I do not like living in fear, I had to come to terms with this reality.

For me, it became a matter of balance.   

I am patently aware that crime happens everywhere and to all  kind of people.  It happens to children and woman and people of faith.  It happens to the elder and the infirm.  It happens in nice neighborhoods, at fancy restaurants and parks and in places where it is least expected.  It happens very often for some random unexplainable reason, which sometimes makes it hard to predict.

Knowing all this is true and how easy it is to be afraid, I have still decided I will not live in fear.

There are a lot of things one can do to prepare themselves not to be a victim, even if they can not have their weapon with them, but as with all things the first is the mind.

I had to find a balance between being in control and having no control.  In preparing to defend myself and trusting in the benevolence of the world.  In knowing that something catastrophic could happen to me and trusting that it won’t. 

I do not know why bad things happen to good people.  Sometimes it seems fate is random, but I don’t believe it is.

I can’t explain why little Susie down the street had a loving childhood and I had a childhood full of violence or why hundreds of good, decent men and woman have died in Iraq and my husband didn’t. 

I have spent many nights trying to figure it out though and what I have discovered is the why is not as important as the how.  The how being: How am I going to deal with all of the dangers and uncertainty of this world without succumbing to it?

Balance.

I have always valued life and I have hoped that if I can show the man upstairs that I do truly value life, mine and everyone elses, that, that will count for something. I always wear my seat belt.  I eat healthy, I work out, I don’t smoke, etc  While I can not guarantee that any of this will help me live to  98, it is what I can do, to show that I am doing all I can to ensure a long healthy life and I would very much appreciate a little divine help from above.

That is how I am balancing my life as a person who wishes to carry her gun everyone, but is not allowed to.  I carry my gun everywhere I can legally and I train to know how to use it.  I do this to show that I take my part of the deal seriously.  I am doing everything I can to be realistic and responsible to defend and protect my life and those I love, but in the cases where I can not, I am trusting that someone else, someone bigger, is watching out and protecting me.

 Thank You!!

http://youtu.be/wK0T4pVHP28

Wow, I can not believe other people besides my family and my very few FaceBook friends read this blog.  I have been blow away at the number of folks that read my ramblings.  

I do not know why that tickles me, but it does.  I didn’t intend to be a world wide blog, but I have folks from Germany, Canada, Russia, India, Switzerland, Czech Republic and the United Kingdom and it’s lots of them!

I am not sure why, but by far the most read post is “The Outlaw Josie Wells”  Everyday, I get lots of new hits on that one.

Kind of wish you all would comment instead of just sending me emails, but hey, since I didn’t even know anyone was reading, I will just be thankful, so again, THANKS!!