Yard Makeover

Our yard's grass situation was looking sad.  We had some drainage issues last year and it took a serious hit.  So we embarked on this yard project to help it out.  We've never laid sod before, but we did our best...


The hubs rented a tiller and tore up the dirt....












We tried to preserve some of the grass that looked like it was revivable.... 


Success!







Now we water....



AND I found this neat rock with fossils in it in the yard while we were working on our project.



Hooray fossil rock!

525,600 Minutes

About a year ago, for the first time in my entire life, I lost my job. I don't think I've ever blogged about this before, but I was laid off as part of the economic downturn and while the news came as a tremendous ego blow, part of me felt relieved. I had been unhappy in that position for about a year but was too afraid to job hunt because of all the economic instability. I felt like it would be best to ride it out in my current position, then see where I could go.

So when Darryl got home from work that day, he took me out for a steak and martinis while I licked my wounds. The next morning I woke up with a knot in my stomach thinking, I have no where to go today. I should have known my life was on the right track when I considered where I used to go every day and my second thought was I HAVE NO WHERE TO GO TODAY and a big smile spread across my face as I sank back under the covers and I slept until 10 AM.

Today I am happier, healthier, and more fabulous than I could have ever imagined. Here's what changed in the last year:

• I took time to get back to the gym, I explored healthy cooking, threw fabulous weekly dinner parties, kept an immaculate household while I was between jobs.
• I wasn't really in the Christmas spirit, but it was nice to be able to run most of the holiday errands for both Darryl and I.
• I had calls for interviews within weeks and multiple job offers by the end of the month. I was reminded of just how impressive my resume was and how much I had to offer, something I'd lost touch with in my previous position.
• I settled into my new job just 6 weeks after being laid off.
• I got to enjoy a tidy little 5 weeks severance package, basically got paid to take all of December off and enjoy the holidays.
• I planned a fabulous wedding (with the help of all you bloggy gals, of course).
• I lost 20 lbs, my mother calls it my "Company X Weight", Darryl says he hasn't seen me look this good since we met (when I was 21).
• All my weight loss was due to joining WW, which was easier to attend meetings since I didn't have to travel as much in my new job.
• As a result of my success, close friends and family have joined as well and dropped lbs too!
• Since I wasn't traveling as much, I got to grow closer to many of my friends.
• Some of my friends were unemployed too, so we had fun hanging out while we looked for new jobs.
• I joined a company and came to work with some great mentors and really interesting new projects.
• I met a group of coworkers who I genuinely enjoy hanging out with, while on work trips or just after hours.
• I convinced my favorite coworker from Company X (and probably the only thing that kept me sane for so long) to defect to my new company, hopefully he's happier too.
• With my newly shaped body and newfound professional confidence, I've translated those feelings into a better sense of style, something I was sorely lacking.

So there you have it, I'm skinnier, I have a better car, a more interesting and challenging job, closer friends, am better dressed, have a healthier lifestyle and am all around a happier person. And to put a big cherry on top of all of that, I PASSED MY PG EXAM! Whoooo!

So there you go, did I think I would be here this time next year, as Darryl tucked a sniffly me into bed after too many post layoff martinis? No. But little did I know that I was about to embark on a transformation into the me I've always wanted to be!

Weekend Recap

Took Friday off of work to study in the morning before my test. The test went okay, there was some material on there I wasn't expecting and that wasn't addressed in the study guide I bought (which is pretty much the only one that exists and is terrible). So, to say I will be making a repeat appearance, would not be an unrealistic statement. Oh well, the stuff I did prep for, I blew out of the water, so I guess now that I've seen it, I can be ready for next time. But keep your fingers crossed that there isn't a next time.

We celebrated that night by Darryl throwing a fajitas and ritas party at our house (which I have no pictures of because I had a heavy emphasis on the ritas...) We definitely had a good time and a surprisingly good turnout despite it being ACL weekend. It was great to relax with the friends I've been neglecting for the past few months.

Saturday we slept in and then went out to car shop. We came home with a nice little Lexus, I cannot get enough of the Lexus smell. Every luxury brand has their own specific leather odor. I decided that I liked both the feel and smell of the Lexus the best. Plus it has about every safety feature known to man, I feel like I'm riding around in a very fast cocoon of airbags. Given the rain all weekend, I haven't had a chance to really open it up, but it was the only car we test drove that was so fast I was actually afraid to redline it.

Buying the car took up most of our afternoon and I learned that buying a car is a total beating but I was very impressed at Darryl's negotiation skills. I specifically wanted to be there to see him in action and I think I learned a thing or two. Saturday night we were exhausted from our automobile adventure, so we stayed in and went to bed early.

Sunday, we did chores, ran errands and basically laid around the house since it was pouring all day. As much as I like ACL, we were glad we sold our tickets, I think I would have made it through one day before I was like, ef this, I'm going home and laying on my couch where it is dry and not muddy.

Now I'm waiting for the kitchen floor to dry (had to mop, margarita parties leave you with sticky, salty floors) and cooking up some short ribs with penne pasta for dinner. Then I think the hubs and I are going to go work out.

It's Go Time Bitches

It's finally here, test day (or as I have been calling it, Rex Manning Day, props to anyone who knows what that is in reference to).  The first half (which I took a year ago and passed) just started, my part starts in 5 hours.  Enjoying some coffee, toast, and a final review.

Oh, You're Still Here?

So either my last post didn't scare you off, or you're a geologist.  Congratulations, the answer to the practice question was B.

Shall we do another? 

You have been assigned to supervise a mud rotary drilling operation and log the cuttings for a

municipal well. The boring will pass through a known shallow salt water zone before entering the
deeper fresh water artesian aquifer. Which of the following is appropriate?


A) Change to an illite based mud.


B) Add barite to the drilling mud.


C) Cement surface casing past the salt zone.


D) Thicken the drilling mud.

I actually got this one right.  I like to cement surface casings like it's going out of style.  The last one I would have gotten if I had remembered what microcline was.  Cut me some slack, I haven't had mineralogy since 2001.  That's almost 9 years bitches.  Holy crap, I've dedicated 9 years to rocks.....FML.

PG Exam

(Is it just me, or does this photo look like it's straigh out of the Fortress of Solitude?)

Ladies and gents, I have been/am going to be off the grid until Friday because I have my big PG exam on October 2nd.  For those of you who don't know what that is, it basically gives me more money and the ability to be sued for effing up a geologic interpretation.  As it is now, a licenced PG has to sign off on all my stuff.  You have to work for 5 years before you're elligable to sit for the exam and here I am.  Spent the whole weekend (and many previous Sundays) filling my brain with all things geologic.  It only has about a 65% passing rate, so I am pretty freaked but after 5 PM Friday I will be FREE!  And if I fail, I can retake again in March, but I'll probably shoot myself if that happens so please send happy vibes my way.

So to subject my loyal blog followers to a taste of the torture I've withstood over the last couple months, I give you a practive question:

Hot-water mineral alteration has occurred within a quartz porphyry dike associated with late phases of intrusion of a granitoid stock into Precambrian amphibolite. The mineral composition of the unaltered dike is: 15% quartz, 45% microcline, 30% oligoclase, 10% biotite.
From the groups of alteration products listed below, select the one most likely to have developed within, and surrounding, the porphyry dike.

A) calcite, calcium-aluminum garnet, epidote.

B) sericite, kaolinite and montmorillonite, hematite.

C) andalusite, calcium-iron garnet, chlorite.

D) sericite, opal, andalusite, epidote.

Confession Monday Responses

Alright ladies (and gentleman), thanks so much for your questions! Here are my responses:



What Made Me Become a Geologist

It sort of just happened, my senior year of high school I took both geology and environmental science and was in this nerdy little club called Academic Decathlon where we studied a lot and took quizzes in front of people. The theme for that year's competition was related to environmental science, plus I visited UT and spoke with a professor in the geology department and he urged me to enter into the environmental side of geology because of projected career growth (as compared to the oil industry). I also used to be a space camp counsellor and I learned that a geologist got to go to the moon on Apollo 17 and I really wanted to pursue planetary geology in the hopes of going to Mars someday. So then I went to UT as a geology major and ADORED my intro class, so I was hooked! The next 1.5 years were pretty heinous and I wanted to defect to law school to practice environmental law, but I changed my mind my senior year of college and decided to go into environmental consulting instead. And here I am.



Favorite Book

Jane Eyre, pretty sure I'm the only one who likes it. I am so enthralled by their love story. I also enjoyed Marley and Me, I was really stressed out and suffering from insomnia for weeks. Reading that book before I went to sleep at night helped me to unwind and solved my insomnia!



Have I Killed Anyone at My New Job Yet?

No, I had a close call on Monday, but David, you are correct sir, this is not appropriate blog fodder. I would say I'm much happier overall at my new company.



Serena VS Vanessa

Serena, I want to be the IT girl. Young, skinny, blond, and fabulous.

What Time Period Do I Belong In?

Lately, I've really been identifying with the 1970's. To me, the 70's represent the last decade before excess really took over. I live in a house built in the late 70's, it is tiny by today's standards, but was probably pretty common during those days, nothing was super sized yet, the pace of life was slower, there was still a lot of discovery happening in American society as they recovered from the disillusionment of the Vietnam war, pushed for women's rights and saw the rise of the adult entertainment industry. In many ways, I see the 70's as the time where America truly "came of age, " and I wish I could have seen it.

How Did D and I Meet? (and where did I grow up)

I grew up in the suburbs of Houston, which is also where D grew up. We went to neighboring high schools, I even used to shop at the record store where he worked, but I never knew him. Sometimes I wonder if he rang me up for some CD I bought in high school, kind of makes me think.

Anyways, we both went to UT, I dated one of his fraternity brothers and was invited to become a little sister to their fraternity. We had a lot of mutual friends and I knew of him, I even found photos of us out to dinner with friends but at different ends of the table, he was always there but I never paid him any attention, I DO remember my girlfriends talking about how sexy he was and coming running excitedly into my apartment when he and his college girlfriend split up. I still didn't care, I had a boyfriend, whatev.

So my senior year, shortly after my college bf got the big heave ho, the president of the frat (who was also my big bro) asked if I could put D down as my "husband" on my season football tickets since he was an alumni and wanted to get tickets at the student price. I thought that I would probably buy the tickets and then this Darryl character would be all lame about paying me back, but I figured since my big bro was the president, he could help me out if D turned out to be a deadbeat (he was excellent about paying me back, FYI). So since we were "married" our seats were together for the entire season. I was on crutches but went to a tailgate before the first game anyways and saw Darryl there, he'd grown his hair out long, which is TOTALLY my weakness so I immediately took notice. He was sweet and helped me clunk around on my crutches, one thing led to another and now we're going to legitimately be husband and wife, not just UT football spouses. My favorite part of our relationship is that it keeps getting better with time, D never ceases to amaze me :).

Our First NYE Together 2003/2004

The Postman Always Rings Twice

...Except for when I've blown off work early and I'm leaning on the mailbox, waiting for him. I casually asked him if he had any certified letters for me and of course he did (SCORE! Don't have to wait in line at the post office!). I opened the letter and immediately panicked because the first page is always a cover letter saying how you can take the test again IF you failed. I never seem to identify that IF so I immediately despaired until I turned to the second page and saw a big PASS on it! Whooo! Ironically, I failed all the sections I passed last time. Apparently I know it all, but just not at the same time. Whatev.

In October 2009 I will finally have met the requirements to take the second exam and get my licence. The second exam has a whopping 69% passing rate. Joy. For now we celebrate!