Your First Safari

January 29, 2016January 29, 2016 ~ Victoria Dühring ~ 17 Comments

I’ve been meaning to do this post for quite sometime now… but there is so much to tell it’s almost impossible to put it all together! Luckily- I DID put it all together- in our Safari Brochure! So what better way to share that with you?

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I love this quote so much! It perfectly describes the emotion you’ll feel from your first safari.

Now, each African country is completely different, but i’ve gotta say i’m pretty partial to South Africa- it’s the only African country you can go on Safari to and not have to worry about lots of immunizations you haven’t already had- Malaria is very rare, and Yellow Fever is only up north around the equator. Plus, most in South Africa speak English as their second language, so speaking barriers are unlikely.
South Africa is the perfect country for your first safari, or a safari with your family- Great food, elegance, safety, electricity and running water, excellent hospitality, AND every animal you can think of in its native environment. Additionally, your heart can sing knowing that your dollars spent, whether through your camera button or trigger finger, go directly to the conservation of habitats, breeding of species, local families, and outreach and research. Safaris drive the African economies like no other!

*Please note as you view the images and words below: they are our personal words and photos taken and put together through many hours of hard work and miles traveled across varying landscapes- please respect them and don’t use them yourself, unless granted permission. :) Thank you!

“In a country that offers a truly astounding variety of animals, plants, and birds, hunting proves to be the challenge that it should be. We believe that a safari should combine excitement with safety, and that the conservation of our heritage is a matter of the highest priority. We believe that the Client, whether equipped with rifle, bow, fishing rod, or camera, should be treated with the utmost consideration and that our dealings with him/her should at all times reflect the highest of ethical standards.” – Andreas Dühring Safaris’ Company Mission Statement

Continue reading “Your First Safari” →

“The Girl on the Train”

January 20, 2016July 19, 2016 ~ Victoria Dühring ~ Leave a comment

As listed on the handy-dandy widget sidebar over there → (if you’re reading from a landscape iPad or computer) I recently read the book “The Girl on the Train” by Paula Hawkins. -and by recently I mean I started reading it on Friday and finished it on Saturday.

I could hardly put my kindle down! This was my first mystery/thriller genre of book and if I know I won’t have time to read another one like this all the way through (like on a long trip or a lazy weekend) I doubt that I will have the gall to start another- it was just way too addicting! I couldn’t stop reading until I found out what happened. Such a good read though!

The author, Paula Hawkins, worked as a journalist for fifteen years before turning her hand to fiction. Born and brought up in Zimbabwe, Paula moved to London in 1989 and has lived there ever since. “The Girl on the Train” is her first thriller, and from what I can find out, also her first novel. Very impressive. I was also drawn to reading this book because she is from Zimbabwe originally. :) I support those fellow ties to Africa!

I can’t explain the book too much without giving away key details, but it is a very well-descripted book told from various characters’ viewpoints, at various settings, and different times. I was this close to writing down the dates and characters of each chapter on a piece of paper, so that when the next chapter would begin I would know where I was just left off from- but I survived without it just fine. :) The main focus is a slightly-obsessive, definitely depressed, alcoholic woman that was cheated on by her now ex-husband… and the events that followed. You just gotta read it! It was great. I wouldn’t suggest it to anyone under the age of 18 due to some mild adult content and language, but still a great read!

Have you read any thrillers? Did you also become a book-reading-zombie only stopping to eat? Let me know!

Huntresses UNITED!

January 18, 2016January 18, 2016 ~ Victoria Dühring ~ Leave a comment

Are you a blogger who happens to also be a huntress?
Then join the Huntresses United list!

I created the Huntresses United collective so that we as huntresses can meet and support other like-minded outdoors-women and their blogs – there seems to be a lack of huntress/hunter blogging collectives/guilds or a way to find other hunting bloggers.

“Huntresses United is a blogging collective of women across the world who share their passion for the outdoors, whether it be wing-shooting, rifle shooting, bow hunting, or angling.”

Click on the link to the Huntresses United info page above (https://texaninsouthafrica.wordpress.com/huntresses-united/) for more information about what being a United Huntress means. :)

Should you wish for your blog to be added to the Huntresses United list, please either comment on this post or on the Huntresses United page with your blog address, or tweet to @vld_safarigirl with #HuntressesUnited.

→You don’t have to have a blog dedicated to hunting or the outdoors to be a Huntress United- you just have to have a love for it! ♥

And by all means, once you join in on the list, please display the logo on your blog so that others will be encouraged to join!

I hope to see our little list grow exponentially!
Happy hunting!

Meal Planning Reality Check

January 8, 2016January 8, 2016 ~ Victoria Dühring ~ 16 Comments

I feel like I go to the grocery store all the time. Seriously.

Lately, every two days or so I end up needing a main ingredient to make for supper – at 5:30pm. This is pretty equal parts due to getting settled in a new living area, and lack of planning..
With classes starting up in a week and a half (eek! *heart palpitations*), I’m going to end up having even less preparation and organization time.
So something’s gotta give.
The solution is that i’ll be hopping on the meal-planning-bandwagon.

There are all sorts of benefits that come from meal planning – budgeting being an obvious one, but also only buying groceries once or twice a month, eating more healthily, and mostly, just having an easy, already thought out meal that’s ready to be tossed together in my kitchen.
So much easier than going to the grocery store at 6:00pm and eating at 8:00pm – and better for you, too!

I just downloaded the Paprika App for Mac, and although I haven’t added in any info other than having a bag of potatoes in my pantry, it looks AMAZING already.

I’m so excited to use it tomorrow! (It might be 1:00am as I type this, currently. whoops…. time management out the window with the night owl.) One of the reasons this app is so popular is because of its simplicity and effectiveness. I can add and save recipes that I either type out myself or that are pulled onto the app directly from the web, then add them to certain days of the month for particular meals (I will probably plan the whole rest of the month), and then the app generates a grocery list for me! Pure. Genius.

I think that the key for our utilization with us being a family of two, is going to be understanding where in our plan that we will eat leftovers, and ensuring that the recipes I choose aren’t too savory and amazing- resulting in a very expensive grocery store trip. You can’t eat a roast three times a week, you know? You have to throw in some lighter meals with less expensive cuts of meat.

I also think that this app may be a way for us (me) to experiment with a lot of recipes that I wouldn’t normally try. Yay for variety!

You’ll definitely be hearing how it goes in the near future!
Do you meal plan? How do you do it?!

P.s. Did you notice that I changed my blog logo from my (beloved) giraffe picture with the overlay of the flags, to just the flags?! I love it so much! I also added in an aqua vector pattern background. :) Oh, so much happiness!

Baffin Bay Speckled Sea Trout

January 5, 2016January 5, 2016 ~ Victoria Dühring ~ 5 Comments

As mentioned previously, we spent the weekend a couple of weeks ago with some (great) friends at their house on Baffin Bay, just south of Corpus Christi, and as all do when you have a pier right outside your door- you go out fishing- a lot.

Pier looking out to Baffin Bay.

Their boat- it’s a Haynie. :)

Luckily, we love fishing!

But, before ending up in Baffin Bay, we met up in Corpus Christi at potentially the most amazing fishing shop known to mankind- Roy’s Bait & Tackle Outfitters!

I mean- look at all of that inventory! They have any and every thing you could dream of needing for any kind of fishing! I even found a hook they use for Great White Shark fishing (permit required)!

THIS HOOK has caught SIX Great White’s in its lifetime!!

Once the first light came up the next day, we were in the boat and out on the bay until sundown. Unfortunately, we didn’t have so much catching luck – we only caught one little Speckled Sea Trout, that was too little to keep.

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However, under the green light (after I left the cold-bearing fishing crew and fell asleep) they caught several more Speckled Sea Trout that were above the length limit and were able to be kept.

So we (husband) kept them, and they came all the way back to our house- where we cooked them that night! (Recipe below)
Maybe our next trip I will get to catch a Red Drum, or a Flounder!

Before

and after!

Speckled Sea Trout Recipe:

First, you gotta do what husband did and clean the fish- I was asleep for that part. Then, keep them on ice until you are ready to cook them- two days max on ice i’d say- then put them in the freezer for up to two months until you are ready to cook them.

Ingredients:
Trout
Baking Pan
Foil
Olive Oil
Sprigs of either fresh Dill (which we used), Tarragon, or Rosemary
Salt and Pepper, freshly ground to taste
Two large lemons, sliced into wedges
Additional deep pan, filled with warm water, to keep fish moist. (This is referred to as a ‘water bath’ when baking, mostly used with cheesecakes.)

Preheat oven to 400*F
Line your baking pan with the foil. In a bowl, mix together the olive oil and seasonings. Rub most of it on the inside of the fish, making sure to get some on the bottom so that there is a surface of oil between the fish and foil. Place the lemon wedges along the inside of each fish cavity. Use remaining oil/seasoning mixture to cover tops of fish, and garnish with additional lemon wedges and sprigs of herbs.
Bake on the middle rack (with pan of water on bottom rack) until done- about 20 minutes. When the meat starts to easily flake off, it is done.
Make sure as you are eating that you don’t get any little bones- but ours easily fell right off without any problems.

Easy, pleasey, lemon-squeezy!
We enjoyed our trout with fresh broccoli and couscous – It was delicious!

Have you been saltwater fishing? What is your favorite fish??

New Year- New Blog Look!

January 3, 2016January 3, 2016 ~ Victoria Dühring ~ Leave a comment

Oh my goodness, y’all… I just love it SO much! I changed the theme on my blog, and it is just so amazing!! I don’t know why I was so apprehensive about doing it… It is a big change and it’s hard to go back if you decide you don’t like it- but as previously mentioned, I LOVE IT!

It’s the Penscratch theme (and did I mention I love it?). It is clean and crisp and lookie there –> My widget I love so much is no longer a hidden hard-to-find pop-out menu. Whoop whoop. I also love that the date and comments are able to be seen at the top of each post on the home page, and all of my pages are listed at the top! The only dislike I have, is the dark blue of the hyperlinks are hard to notice as you are reading, but alas, the rest makes up for it.

I hope you like it, too! Let me know! :)
Oh, happy day!

Blogging Tips and Tricks

January 2, 2016January 3, 2016 ~ Victoria Dühring ~ 3 Comments

Hello, there! Are you a blogger, or new to having a blog?
Whether it’s your New years’ resolution, you’re coming back to a dormant page, or you’re an avid post-maker, here are some tips for all bloggers alike. :)

Now, I don’t have the most ‘successful’ site, in the eyes of others – I don’t have sponsors, or over 1,000 followers, but I have posted 46 heart-felt posts and interacted with some pretty awesome people across the globe because of it since September 2014. Throughout the short lifetime of my blog, I can reflect on some learned tips that could be of use to others.

Firstly –Choose your blog name very wisely! – You can’t change this– so even though I am the ‘Texan in South Africa’ that is now back in Texas, that will go back every year for an undisclosed amount of time back to South Africa…. I really think that in hindsight, even though it seemed such a perfect name at the time, I could have picked a less concrete name to have gone with. If you know of a way to change your blog name on your blog- please do tell! I have done a bit of research and it seems the only way is to potentially upgrade to the paid platform or create a whole new blog- which is not an option for me- too many dear posts to lose!
Write down a blog schedule – Topics should be those that will inspire you and be easy to manage. Drafting a schedule makes goals- so start with just two posts a week on specific days – do that for a month and then increase to three. And you don’t have to sit down on the Tuesday you want to post- you can do them both on the same Sunday evening and schedule them to post on the days you want!
Interact with other blogs! <– This is a biggie! The only way you are going to increase your blogging confidence (therefore blogging more and completing your posting goals) is by getting a tad bit of traffic and feedback (comments) on your blog! And the only way that is going to happen is to go visit other blogs on your reader – follow a topic, (preferably one that is similar to your blog) pick one (I always pick blogs to read that don’t have thousands of followers- helping the other little guys out!), read it a bit, and then click that follow button – they will be sure to check yours out and then reciprocate that follow to yours! And don’t forget to join in on the conversation and COMMENT on a post! As a blogger speaking to a fellow blogger- comments are the hugs of the blogosphere, are they not?! They are the warm little notifications that someone has read your post you potentially spent hours on, enjoyed it, and taken the time to give you their thoughts back! Which brings me to our next bullet… Continue reading “Blogging Tips and Tricks” →

Happy 1st Day of 2016!

January 1, 2016April 1, 2016 ~ Victoria Dühring ~ Leave a comment

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10882111_642331372538466_1155379732499817194_n — Except for the fact that it is today instead of tomorrow, and it’s a leap year this year, Brad. ;) so 366 pages.

Oh, happy day! A whole year has come and gone, and a new one has taken its place. People all over the world for the next couple of weeks will be using that eraser to scratch out the ‘5’ and replace it with a ‘6’ for 2016 – I know I will be! I have to remind myself for weeks on end that it’s a new year- almost until the point that it’s the end of that year with a new one on the way again!

Did you notice on the home page? I changed the year on the copyright! It looks like i’m entering my third calendar year of blogging! Whoop whoop! I can’t wait for all that 2016 will bring- good and exciting things indeed- and I wish the same for you, too!

As far as resolutions are concerned, I can’t remember the last time that I sat down and wrote some out on a January 1st, so why not now? I am sitting, after all…

Victoria’s 2016 Resolutions/Goals:
–Be more patient.
–Be more kind.
–Be less critical of myself and others.
–Develop better time management. (Although i’m sure this will come on its own as soon as this school semester starts- yep, you read that right- school semester- stay tuned for that update..)
–Bring pilates back into my life as a daily routine. – this will require the purchasing of some mat equipment.
–Start running. (cliché, yes, I know… i’m sure that of all of the lists written across the globe today, this is probably the most common one, but it’s always a good one!)
-Hunt more. (duh)
-Join a Texas IDPA group
-Get my concealed handgun license.
-Curse less. (it’s a problem, i’ll admit)
-Take. More. Pictures!!
-Become a more confidant swimmer.
-Take a beach vacation.
-Read more (going back to time management…)
-Wake up earlier
-Stop settling for throwing my hair in a bun- appearances matter!
-Eat out less.
-Plan our meals- and buy accordingly.
-Create a financial budget.
-Get more crafty.
and last but not least,
-Blog more!

What are your New Years’ resolutions or goals? Do we have any that are the same?

Until next time!
I hope you had a most blessed and wonderfully refreshing January 1st, 2016!

P.s
As previously mentioned (again), I have been absent as of late due to the crazy busyness of life. A couple of things that I (we) have done in the last couple of weeks, includes remodeling a small house, surviving family encounters throughout the holiday season, and going hunting (although unsuccessfully) a couple of times. It even snowed while we were in the blind- in Del Rio of all places!

The air was so pretty filled with all of the dainty dancing white specks, and the Whitetail Deer looked to be having some fun with it, too.