When you wear steel-toe boots for 12 hours...they hurt your feet. Driving through the country is awesome...unless it's raining so hard that even your wipers on their fastest speed can't keep up. Taking pictures of yourself with a state sign in the background is really cool....especially if you've never been in that state before. Passing a sign that says "Center of the Nation - 28 miles," is pretty rad. Driving on highways that only contain one way there, and one way back, is purty neat..unless it's raining hard, as noted above. And finally...those signs on the side of the road that have a picture of a deer, then it says "For Next 5 Miles," is pretty pointless....when the sign is repeated every five miles.
(copyright held by this website for this photo...I'm borrowing it cause the wifi at the oilsite is slooooooowwwww so I can't upload my own photos)
So the actual update on my life is...while I'm still a Betty Crocker, I am also officially, an oilfield worker. Mind you, the actual work (what little I've done of it) is in a trailer onsite at an oil rig, so luckily, my job will be (mostly) indoors, in a heated trailer, operating computers that run surveys and logs and tell me how "my" tools are doing in the drill string. Lotsa words that I'm only now getting to know and/or love. :) My job title is "Associate Field Professional - MWD."
MWD stands for Measurement While Drilling...or as the roughnecks like to say "Movie Watching Dude." And yeah, so far, I've watched a few movies. :) But only because at the site I'm currently at, we haven't been able to start drilling yet.
As of right now, I'm based in Casper, Wyoming, but I'm at my first rig site in North Dakota. I'm actually in the southern part of North Dakota, and either tomorrow or the next day, I'm being sent to Williston, North Dakota, which is about 5 hours from where I'm at. I'm looking forward to experiencing an actual rig where we can drill. My husband and babies are still in San Diego, and once I finish at the next rig, I'm looking forward to flying back out there and helping my husband pack up the U-Haul and then driving our butts out to Casper! I've already rented a pretty cool house in what's called the "Big Tree," area of Casper. It's in an awesome neighborhood, with great schools. I hope Cash really likes his preschool. I'm going to try to get him into St. Anthony's Tri-Parish school. This of course, is all predicated on me being able to leave the oilrig in time to get back for my babies baptism on June 19th! Wish me luck!
Friday, May 20, 2011
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Thinking of Wyoming
As many of you know (or not), I went to college in Wyoming. I had never been to Wyoming, much less any of the states around it like Colorado, Utah or Montana. But still, I wanted to study with a certain anthropology professor, and he worked out of the University of Wyoming. So I said, that's it, I'm transferring to UW. And I did. My dad and I towed my car packed full to the gills, and meandered (reality check: we really drove as fast as one can towing a car!) our way through New Mexico, up through Colorado and stayed the night with my aunt and uncle in northern Colorado. From there, we drove up over the pass and directly into Laramie.
It was one of the most fun experiences of my life, and to this day, I've always wished I could move back. Well, it appears that there might be an opportunity for me to do that now. With of course, my husband and children! So cross your fingers that I get called for an interview...and of course, that I ace it!
Hubs and I have spent numerous hours talking about the subject of our moving, into the ground. We've listed pros and cons and what would be the benefits and the negatives of such a move. Ultimately, we've decided that if we're going to do this, there is no time better than the present. Both of our children are under age four, so they're not enrolled in elementary school, yet they've both been in daycare, so are sort of used to strangers taking care of them. The best part that I can see is that my son would actually have a chance to bond with his daddy, because dad would be able to stay at home with both children. That kind of thing is not something one can look lightly upon. Time just moves so fast, and if we can get the opportunity for one of us to stay home and be truly involved in our children's lives, then why not?
On another note, here are a couple of beautiful pictures of Wyoming...and yes, camping and the wonderful fishing this state offers is high on my list of wants!
It was one of the most fun experiences of my life, and to this day, I've always wished I could move back. Well, it appears that there might be an opportunity for me to do that now. With of course, my husband and children! So cross your fingers that I get called for an interview...and of course, that I ace it!
Hubs and I have spent numerous hours talking about the subject of our moving, into the ground. We've listed pros and cons and what would be the benefits and the negatives of such a move. Ultimately, we've decided that if we're going to do this, there is no time better than the present. Both of our children are under age four, so they're not enrolled in elementary school, yet they've both been in daycare, so are sort of used to strangers taking care of them. The best part that I can see is that my son would actually have a chance to bond with his daddy, because dad would be able to stay at home with both children. That kind of thing is not something one can look lightly upon. Time just moves so fast, and if we can get the opportunity for one of us to stay home and be truly involved in our children's lives, then why not?
On another note, here are a couple of beautiful pictures of Wyoming...and yes, camping and the wonderful fishing this state offers is high on my list of wants!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
RIP Chickens
O.M.G. Yes, I just wrote OMG. Our poor chickens have been decimated by two evil-hearted raccoons. Okay, I say evil-hearted, but in reality I know they are just trying to survive. They found a flock of chickens and they viewed them as relatively easy prey. Considering the majority of our chickens have one wing clipped, then I guess I could agree. But the truth is, I am really upset about this turn of events.
For one, I've enjoyed having our chickens, especially the Black Star ones that we've had since they were a day old. They've moved with us from Vista to El Cajon, and now they only reached the age of three and they have been killed. So yes, I'm bummed about that. Second of all, we only have two chickens left! And this means basically, no eggs for the foreseeable future.
My husband is going to work on building a new coop, utilizing the materials from the old one. So now, I don't know whether to ask our neighbor if she wants to hold onto our two chickens (so this way hubs can get started soonest on rebuilding a new, enclosed coop) or if I should just go ahead and purchase some ammonia and spray it around our current coop. Any thoughts?
RIP little chickens!
For one, I've enjoyed having our chickens, especially the Black Star ones that we've had since they were a day old. They've moved with us from Vista to El Cajon, and now they only reached the age of three and they have been killed. So yes, I'm bummed about that. Second of all, we only have two chickens left! And this means basically, no eggs for the foreseeable future.
My husband is going to work on building a new coop, utilizing the materials from the old one. So now, I don't know whether to ask our neighbor if she wants to hold onto our two chickens (so this way hubs can get started soonest on rebuilding a new, enclosed coop) or if I should just go ahead and purchase some ammonia and spray it around our current coop. Any thoughts?
RIP little chickens!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Getting back to basics...starting with my coffee!
Mmmm...coffee. Like many other mom's, I am a coffee drinker. Ironic, cause before my first child was born, I wasn't big into coffee. If I did drink coffee, it was the fluffy, chocolate flavored mochas and that was it. Now, honestly, I'd feel like I'd die without at least one cup a day.
Once I started drinking & making coffee at home, I always used liquid vanilla creamer. For one, I didn't trust the powdered stuff, no idea why. Then...I read the ingredients in a bottle of Coffee-Mate liquid vanilla creamer and it read like this "water, sugar, partially hydrogenated soybean and/or cottonseed oil, casenate" etc. I don't even think actual milk was in this - just a milk derivitive! YUCK! Not even to mention that the sugar-free version has corn syrup solids - Holy crap!
So now, I've moved over to regular ol' half and half, making sure the ingredients list just says cream and milk. That's it. BTW, Target's skim half and half does NOT read just milk & cream, as an FYI. Sure, it's less sweet than the vanilla creamer, but when I had some coffee over Christmas Eve at my parents (they only have the creamer) and I took a taste of it, my mom looked at my face (apparently I grimaced) and she said what's wrong? I just told her I am so used to half and half now, that the creamer tastes violently sweet...and it was the sugar-free version, too!
My point is, I'm trying to get myself and my family back to the basics. Trying to cook more whole foods, more whole grains, using pastry wheat flour when I bake, etc. So, why not start with my coffee? That's one of the best things about the morning anyway!
Once I started drinking & making coffee at home, I always used liquid vanilla creamer. For one, I didn't trust the powdered stuff, no idea why. Then...I read the ingredients in a bottle of Coffee-Mate liquid vanilla creamer and it read like this "water, sugar, partially hydrogenated soybean and/or cottonseed oil, casenate" etc. I don't even think actual milk was in this - just a milk derivitive! YUCK! Not even to mention that the sugar-free version has corn syrup solids - Holy crap!
So now, I've moved over to regular ol' half and half, making sure the ingredients list just says cream and milk. That's it. BTW, Target's skim half and half does NOT read just milk & cream, as an FYI. Sure, it's less sweet than the vanilla creamer, but when I had some coffee over Christmas Eve at my parents (they only have the creamer) and I took a taste of it, my mom looked at my face (apparently I grimaced) and she said what's wrong? I just told her I am so used to half and half now, that the creamer tastes violently sweet...and it was the sugar-free version, too!
My point is, I'm trying to get myself and my family back to the basics. Trying to cook more whole foods, more whole grains, using pastry wheat flour when I bake, etc. So, why not start with my coffee? That's one of the best things about the morning anyway!
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