Halloween 2014: "I'm Batman!" & Update on Brodee

Josh and I didn't do anything very Halloween-y for Haloween but we did get some pictures of Brodee in his cute costume!

He was very excited to be Batman!

We also got these photos from Brodee's mom. He is growing up so fast and looks more and more like Josh every day!

Not "VEGAS BABY!", But "VEGAS WITH BABIES!"

One of my best friends, Emily, lives just outside Vegas with her amazing husband, Kenny.

On of my other best friends, Katey, lives in Arizona with her husband, Paul, and their cute kid.

Right now both Katey and Emily are pregnant! AT THE SAME TIME! How fun is that?! I am so excited for both of them!

A few months ago I got a call from Katey who told me that she was going to be in the Vegas area in October visiting family and that I needed to come out so we can throw Emily a baby shower and we can all hang out! 

I decided to take a long weekend off of work, fly out to Vegas, stay at the Bellagio (it was kinda a mini get away for me), rent a car, and hang out with my girls!

I left work Thursday, October 23, after our morning meeting and headed to the airport. Of course, their was an accident on the freeway heading through Chicago so my GPS rerouted me... rerouted me THROUGH downtown Chicago! It was fun to see some more of the city but I was a little worried that my GPS was acting up a bit. 

[Downtown Chicago]


After that adventure I arrived at the airport, caught my flight to Vegas, arrived safely, got my rental car, and headed to In-n-Out for dinner! 

[My sweet ride for the weekend]


Yes, I am a true California girl! I love my In-n-Out. 

[Hamburger, add pickles, no onions, fry well, and a chocolate shake!]


After dinner I headed to the Bellagio, checked in, got cleaned up, and went to see O!

I have been wanting to see O for a LONG time and I finally got my chance!

The show was super cool and I'm glad I got to go. I do have to say that my favorite Cirque du Soleil show so far has been Ka. But O was great too!

The next day, October 24, I went and met Katey and her first born at Emily's house. We decided to do a little shopping for Emily before we had to pick her up from work. We went to Babies R Us and I got her a lot of things that were on her Wishlist (don't ask me what exactly... all this baby stuff confuses me). Then we went to Target to get a few things for her shower. While we were driving, the baby attempted to eat a few M&Ms and then fell asleep so Katey ran into the store and left me in the car to babysit. 

Next, we headed over to Emily's work to pick her up. It was a glorious reunion!

We then had lunch at Zupas (a place we LOVED to eat at in college) and then went back to Emily's where we just hung out and caught up.

Saturday, October 25, was Emily's babyshower. We didn't do anything too fancy. We just had a nice lunch with a few of Emily's friends at the Cheesecake Factory. Can't go wrong there! She got a lot of great stuff and we are all so happy for her!

[Delicious cheesecake]

After the shower we did a little shopping and then dropped of the baby with Katey's in-laws so we could have a girls-night-out! We first went and got pedicures and then headed to the Vegas Strip! We went to Margaritaville to get some nachos and margaritas (of course they were virgin margaritas for my girls). After dinner we went to the Bellagio Fountains, which we love, and watched a couple of shows.

[Getting pedicures]

[Best nachos EVER]

The next day we just hung out and spent some good ole quality time together. I'm sad I couldn't stay longer but I had to get back to work. I know it was a quick trip but seeing my girls was well worth it! They are so amazing and I am so happy for the both of them!

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

I can see it! I really can!

This last month has been a little crazy here on the pipeline. Things are wrapping up and I have been extremely busy with work and all that goes with it!

I was in charge of putting together a huge list (we call it a "punch list") of things that still need to be done before we can all get out of here. I've been working with the other departments and after days of pouring my heart and soul into it I am ready for it to be presented to the Contractor. Once the Contractor finishes the list we can all go home. 

But there's an elephant in the room. A big one. What if they don't finish before the snow comes? We don't want to talk about that! We don't even want to think about that!

While I was in a meeting last Saturday it started snowing. Like HUGE flakes, real snow snowing! It was wild! Turns out it was just a freak Fall storm and NOT the start of winter!

I told my boss that we need to by in Sydney on December 5th so we can catch a cruise to New Zealand and Fiji. Some days he just laughs and says that it's not gonna happen and then other times he says that it is doable. I don't know what to believe! But in all honesty, he doesn't know when this project will end just like everyone else. So I guess we will have to wait and see!

In non-work related things:

The NFL Season kicked off,

we found a delicious breakfast place where they make this amazing raspberry coffee cake, 

I saw the lunar eclipse this morning,

[picture taken by my coworker]

and Josh and I went to a Dodgers game at the Historic Wrigley Field!

[Getting breakfast before the game]

[Taking the train to Chicago]

[Fall is here]

[Wrigley Field]

I was warned before hand that it would be cold at the game so I brought my jacked and beanie but I was still cold! We sat in the first row of the nose bleed section which was nice because it rained a few times before and during the game and we were protected by the roof.

Overall it was a very fun experience. I was glad that we were able to go to Wrigley Field during it's 100th year, get some hot dogs, and watch the Dodgers beat the Cubs!

I got a little too cold during the game so after the 5th we left and headed over to a local BBQ joint. We hung out there and got some great BBQ and watched the rest of the game on their large TVs. After the game was over we headed back over to downtown Chicago and jumped on the south-bound train.

[My mountain man!]

Rain, rain go away... BECAUSE I NEED A FREAKIN VACATION!

Most people don't realize this, but building a pipeline is a lot of work. A LOT OF WORK. Yes, the pipe is in the ground. Yes, the pipe is transporting oil. So why are we still here? Well, when the pipeline goes through someone's property we make a commitment to restore that persons property. Either we leave it how we found it or we make it better. Sometimes that is easier said then done. We have had an abnormal amount of rain this year which makes it difficult to "clean up" or "restore" (as we call it) the pipeline ROW. Because of the rain, progress is slow and things are taking a lot longer then they should. 

[This nice big "red spot" over Valparaiso dropped so much rain that I got trapped inside a Walmart and the parking lot got flooded. Turns out these storms are nasty and pretty common]

 

OR sometimes we get lucky and get a few nice dry days so we can get things done and then a HUGE storm comes in and floods everything and washes all the seed away AND THEN we have to do it all over again! Ugh!

[All done and beautifully seeded]

 

[Flash floods rip up the ROW]

[Flash flood washing away seed and curlex]

So, yea, we are still here. Things are moving along and we should be done here in the next few months... but we will see...

Anyways, as of today (September 8, 2014) I have officially been on this project for a year. A SOLID year. A whole year of working 6 (usually 7) days a week with only a few days off: one day for Thanksgiving, 10 days off for Christmas, 7 days off for our wedding, and three days off for Luke and Andie's wedding, plus the occasional Sunday or holiday. I have gotten 35 days off in the last year (yep, I counted). I have woken up between 3:00 AM and 4:00 AM and been at work everyday between 4:45 AM and 6:00 AM. I work, on average, 12 hours a day and I don't usually have time to take a lunch break.

I guess what I am trying to tell you is that I AM TIRED!

I am. I really am. My temper is getting shorter and shorter by the day and my body is hurting from sitting in my desk chair all day. I try to keep my sanity by reading the news, jumping on Facebook, reading blogs, reading my book, or standing on my BOSU ball. I've been doing my arm work outs while standing on it and then I try to stand on it for 10 minutes every hour while at work. I have been doing this for about 3 weeks now and I can already tell a difference. My balance is getting better (I can stand on it with one leg) and my legs are getting toner (that could also be from going to Spinning class four times a week but who really knows?).

[Me standing on the BOSU ball. I don't work out in my sandals. I usually just stand there and read a book or talk to someone if anyone happens to be in the office.]

[When not in use, the BOSU sits under my desk and I use it as a foot rest]

Gotta keep things interesting around here!

Oh and here's my adorable office:

Anyways, I am grateful that I have a job and I try really hard not to complain about it or let it get to me but I need a vacation! :-) Once this project is done Josh and I are heading out on an adventure! We will either be going Down-Under to Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji OR to South America. It all depends on WHEN we are finished here.

Alright. Now that we have all of that out of the way... Here are some picture from the last couple of months:

Once a week all of the "Higher Ups" on the project gather at the office to discuss the progress. I get the doughnuts and coffee and the guys chat.

[The guys looking at the map of the project]

 [Doughnuts from a local bakery and pastries and coffee from Panera]

I had a birthday! That was fun. I let myself go home after an 11 hour day, got some great presents (including this Star Wars sun shade from Luke and Andie and a Coach purse and wallet from Josh), talked to family and friends, and then went out to a nice steak dinner with my husband!

Josh and I go out every Saturday night for dinner but it's usually short and sweet because we have to work the next day. However, a few weekends ago, we knew we didn't have to work on Sunday so we went to a winery. We tasted a bunch of different wines before dinner and then got a bottle of Pinot Noir delivered to our table during dinner. It was a lot of fun!

Dinner one day last week. I had a rough day.

 During our last Facetime, Brodee told us about school and the animals he has been learning about. He got really excited when he told us about armadillos so we sent him a big stuffed one! Looks like he loves it! What a cutie!

Not much else to report from here. Oh wait, it's raining again. Ugh.