thanksgiving break

I am a teacher in a wonderful school district in Rockwall, Texas. We are lucky enough to have the whole week off for the Thanksgiving holiday. It makes me feel like I am in college again! Aside from the doctor appointments and running errands, I had a pretty exciting week.

My momma is a member at the Dallas Arboretum and they are currently hosting the "12 Days of Christmas at Night" event. I normally do not want to see or hear anything related to Christmas until after Thanksgiving, but I made an exception since my husband had the evening off work. The whole thing was designed so beautifully and was very detail-oriented, which I appreciate. Each day of Christmas was portrayed in a separate gazebo - these things were huge!

"12 Drummers Drumming"

"7 Swans-a-Swimming"

"And a Partridge in a Pear Tree"

My husband and I do not make it past the lake in Rockwall very often. In fact, it is kind of a running joke in our house. I had just been shopping that day and I was feeling adventurous in the makeup department. Pictured below is a fun print sweater from francesca's and my favorite red lipstick, "Caprice" from Lancome. Both pair well with black boots, skinny jeans or leggings and a handsome man! ;)

Being a teacher, I love to read! I definitely jumped on The Hunger Games bandwagon and read all three books in one week. I specifically remember because I would even take it to the rec center in college and read while I was working out! Tom was a trooper and took me to see Mockingjay Part 1 on Wednesday. Man, it was good!

On Friday, I spent my last of days off with Tom doing one of his favorite things, shooting! We went to Targetmaster in Garland, which is great because they have a pistol and rifle range. We shot about 200 rounds in each of our pistols. Buy your ammo in bulk for target practicing, big money saver! One of our friends that went with us had never held a gun before, so that was fun to watch and be a part of. Tom just got an AR-15 not long ago and he let me play with it. I think it is safe to say, do not mess with me. :)

I finished up my long break with a weekend at the Lone Star German Shorthair Pointer Club's Hunt Test in Decatur, Texas. I have been around this breed of dogs since I was five years old and I finally have one of my own, Chunk. My dad has always been very active with his dogs. Currently, he has five! I love them all and they are a truly amazing breed. Chunk loves chasing birds in the backyard, so it seemed like a no-brainer that I would work towards competing with him in field trials.

Field trials are competitions where dogs compete for championship points. Hunt tests are for judging your dog on their individual capabilities as a bird dog. The categories in which they test are hunting, bird finding ability, pointing, trainability, retrieving and honoring. Chunk is in the "Junior Hunter" category so he is not judged on retrieving and honoring yet. The dog must get a 5 or higher in each category to qualify. Chunk passed on his first try! It was my first time to ever handle a dog on my own and I had a blast! It sounds cheesy, but this is alone time with him that I feel like will only strengthen our relationship. He is a good dog, but still has some puppy in him. I see some areas that we can work on as a bird dog and a house pet, and I believe the hunting together will just solidify his trust in me. pictured below is the two of us after the first run. I could not stopping hugging and kissing him, he just made me so proud!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families and found some time to kick up your feet and just relax!