What I learned.

Yesterday Alex and I went and helped some friends butcher and wrap two elks. That was a lot of meat! With 5 or 6 grown men, 2 women, and 2 young girls it took us 8 hours! It was my first time ever doing anything like that and I think I learned a lot, so I decided to share.

~ I learned that blood and guts don't really bother me. Seeing a little bit of how everything works is fascinating.
~ I learned that I am enough shorter than everyone else that while their lower backs were sore and achy from bending over tables..it was my shoulder blade area that got all the twinges.
~ I learned that fresh raw meat smells nasty! I also learned that the smell seems to go away after a few hours.
~ No thank you, guys, I learned that handling big hunks of raw steak and roast does not make me want to take a big bite of it. Yucky!
~ When handling raw meat, I learned that the last thing I am craving to eat is meat..no, I wanted a milkshake or a cinnamon roll, maybe a nice, fresh, green salad. I was not thinking about steak and potatoes..
~ I learned that it still gives me butterflies in my stomach to see my Alex smile at me from across the room (or barn) and to realize that he is my husband!
~ I learned that dogs eat weird things and I'm very glad I'm not a dog.
~ I learned that some elk insides are sticky...like double sided tape.
~ I learned that I should really get a pair of muck boots.
~ I learned that one of my handfuls of ground meat cannot equal a pound if the handful of a guy with hands 3 times the size of mine equals a pound. One of us was wrong.
~ I learned that when I am with people I care about and love -even while having blood on my hands, straw and muck all over my shoes, being freezing cold, and bending over to wrap and bag seemingly never ending cuts of roast, steak, and ground meat- I can still have a good time.

Perhaps now you too have learned something new :)