Good Afternoon
I just got back in town from a quick business trip to Midland. We have wrapped up all the division kick off meetings and everything went smoothly. I ended up presenting at two of the meetings and it wasn't as horrible as I thought it might be. Besides the insane business at work the last two weekends were quite excellent.
Two weekends ago I had a nice easy Friday night so that I could get up early and run nine miles. I was incredibly lame, I cooked a nice dinner, read a little, and fell asleep before 9!! I got up early and met a friend at the park for a run. It felt great for the first six miles and then I started getting that tightness in my knee and I knew it was game over. I made it nine miles and called it quits. I was very disappointing because my training for the half had been going incredibly well with no pain from the knee. Since my half is this weekend I decided to stop running hoping that it will be better by the time I have to run. Besides the knee issue I hope I have the endurance to run the 13.1 miles. I really want to complete that half so be praying that my knee behaves its self on Sunday (don't worry I am not hurting my knee by running, I just have a tight IT band that prevents full range of motion in my knee causing pain.) I am pretty excited about the run so I hope it goes well.
After the run I got cleaned up and met up with the Crossfit girls for an afternoon of wine tasting on the Texas Blue Bonnet Wine Trail. It was a blast, we got to try some unique wines and see a lot of beautiful country side. That evening a friend came over and we partook in a bottle of wine and went out dancing. It was a fun Saturday night.
This last weekend was also quite eventful and fun. Friday evening our Crossfit group had a get together at the gym. One of the other girls and I went to hang out and see what was going on. Saturday I ran a bunch of errands and bought boots for rodeo season. That evening I had a BBQ at the house with the girls and a few other friends, then we went out two stepping. I met a guy in Dallas that is an incredible dancer and he happened to be a college friend of my roommate. He came down to visit and we danced the night away. Sunday was a lazy day of brunch, lounging, sleeping, and getting ready to go to Midland. Over all quite a few successful weekends. Hope everyone is enjoying life to the fullest!
Until next time
Tory
Friday, February 22, 2013
Monday, February 4, 2013
February...Already
It feels like it was just Christmas and I was in the store wondering why they had all their valentines stuff out...well because in a blink of an eye its February 4th and you are still trying to figure out where Christmas went. The last few weeks have busy ones with lots of travel and lots of good times.
At work we have been making a tour of the US to hit all of our division kick off meetings, first stop Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The kick off meetings have various groups presenting on the events that will be going on in that division for the year. The next week we drove to San Antonio for the Southern division kick off meeting, from San Antonio we flew to Casper, Wyoming for the Rockies kick off meeting. The integrity group also gives a presentation, the first two meetings I was able to get out of it as my boss and coworker were there. My boss didn't travel with us to the Rockies therefore I was expected to give his portion of the presentation. Now you would think no worries she is a natural at this whole public speaking thing. I only did it for years and competed in it. Hum well that was not quite the case, I took notes when my boss was presenting and I studied up the night before to make sure I knew all the stuff I needed to cover. That morning I felt good, I had this, it was a smaller room I didn't know half the people there. Cake walk...let me start by saying the people that attend these meetings are managers, directors, VP's ect ....people that know what they are doing. Then there comes me, I have been working for the department for a whole three weeks. I don't have a clue of what I am talking about and anyone in that room could call my bluff at any minute. So I decided to take notes up with me...that didn't work out at all, I was shaking so hard I couldn't read my notes. Notes were gone and I was on my way, it took a whole of 7 minutes and I got more blank stares than I have ever seen in my life and no one asked questions. So either I confused them so much they didn't know where to begin or they were so hungry they didn't care about what I had to say. Either way I made it out alive and am preparing my material for this week as we speak! The Mid-Con guys wont be as kind, they know me too well.
This week we will be heading up to Oklahoma City, the next week I have a pigging and in-line inspection course and the week after that we will be in Midland. So for the few days that I am in the office its 7-5 back to back meetings and 5-7 work. Whattt????
Besides work I have been staying busy with Crossfit, and training for the half marathon I run in two weeks. Wait who's bright idea was it to run a half marathon! Turns out it was mine and I signed up in a moment of weakness or sheer craziness. I have been following a pretty strict running schedule trying to work my way up to 13.1 miles or fun running. So far the longest run I have had was eight miles this last Saturday, thankfully it wasn't to bad I just ran out of energy about mile six. 8 Mile Run you can click on this link and view a map of my run and the stats.
Last weekend was quite a fun adventure we had a girls weekend in Dallas with my bellydance friends from college. One of the girls lives up there so we all carpooled and spent the weekend with here. It consisted of late night talks, leisure afternoons and some two stepping. We had a great time and it was fun catching up with the girls.
This last weekend was my first weekend home so I was glad to get some much needed rest and relaxation. I also got to keep the girls this weekend so we had a blast! Friday after work the weather perfect so I took the pups to the the park so they could run around and stretch their legs. After several hours of this we were worn out so we came home and napped. That evening a friend and I grabbed dinner and went and watched a college baseball game. I knew one of the player so it was a fun evening! Saturday I was up early running with one of the crossfit girls. We knocked out a solid 8 mile run in 1 hr and 19 minutes, not to shabby. Then I took the pups to the park to run around and play. That evening the roomies and I headed to a local bar to watch the A&M basektball game. They ended up losing, but we still had a good time. The crossfit girls joined us later and then we headed to dinner. After dinner we called it and evening and went home to sleep. Sunday was a nice uneventful day, church, lunch and park time withe dogs.
Here we are back at monday and it time for me to go to bed...430 am jog sounds so enticing right now....
Tory
Until next time
At work we have been making a tour of the US to hit all of our division kick off meetings, first stop Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The kick off meetings have various groups presenting on the events that will be going on in that division for the year. The next week we drove to San Antonio for the Southern division kick off meeting, from San Antonio we flew to Casper, Wyoming for the Rockies kick off meeting. The integrity group also gives a presentation, the first two meetings I was able to get out of it as my boss and coworker were there. My boss didn't travel with us to the Rockies therefore I was expected to give his portion of the presentation. Now you would think no worries she is a natural at this whole public speaking thing. I only did it for years and competed in it. Hum well that was not quite the case, I took notes when my boss was presenting and I studied up the night before to make sure I knew all the stuff I needed to cover. That morning I felt good, I had this, it was a smaller room I didn't know half the people there. Cake walk...let me start by saying the people that attend these meetings are managers, directors, VP's ect ....people that know what they are doing. Then there comes me, I have been working for the department for a whole three weeks. I don't have a clue of what I am talking about and anyone in that room could call my bluff at any minute. So I decided to take notes up with me...that didn't work out at all, I was shaking so hard I couldn't read my notes. Notes were gone and I was on my way, it took a whole of 7 minutes and I got more blank stares than I have ever seen in my life and no one asked questions. So either I confused them so much they didn't know where to begin or they were so hungry they didn't care about what I had to say. Either way I made it out alive and am preparing my material for this week as we speak! The Mid-Con guys wont be as kind, they know me too well.
This week we will be heading up to Oklahoma City, the next week I have a pigging and in-line inspection course and the week after that we will be in Midland. So for the few days that I am in the office its 7-5 back to back meetings and 5-7 work. Whattt????
Besides work I have been staying busy with Crossfit, and training for the half marathon I run in two weeks. Wait who's bright idea was it to run a half marathon! Turns out it was mine and I signed up in a moment of weakness or sheer craziness. I have been following a pretty strict running schedule trying to work my way up to 13.1 miles or fun running. So far the longest run I have had was eight miles this last Saturday, thankfully it wasn't to bad I just ran out of energy about mile six. 8 Mile Run you can click on this link and view a map of my run and the stats.
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| Baseball Game |
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| Bingo |
This last weekend was my first weekend home so I was glad to get some much needed rest and relaxation. I also got to keep the girls this weekend so we had a blast! Friday after work the weather perfect so I took the pups to the the park so they could run around and stretch their legs. After several hours of this we were worn out so we came home and napped. That evening a friend and I grabbed dinner and went and watched a college baseball game. I knew one of the player so it was a fun evening! Saturday I was up early running with one of the crossfit girls. We knocked out a solid 8 mile run in 1 hr and 19 minutes, not to shabby. Then I took the pups to the park to run around and play. That evening the roomies and I headed to a local bar to watch the A&M basektball game. They ended up losing, but we still had a good time. The crossfit girls joined us later and then we headed to dinner. After dinner we called it and evening and went home to sleep. Sunday was a nice uneventful day, church, lunch and park time withe dogs.
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| How could you ever say no? |
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| Super sleepy after park time. |
Here we are back at monday and it time for me to go to bed...430 am jog sounds so enticing right now....
Tory
Until next time
Friday, January 18, 2013
January 2013
It looks like January has taken off at lightening speed. I had no idea my life could get crazier or busier, but it has done just that. I kicked off the new year by moving into a new position at Plains, I am now working in the Integrity department as an Integrity Analyst. Our group focuses on all non-government regulated pipelines, we conduct risk reviews to ensure we are doing everything in our power to prevent leaks. For the last three years I was working in the Operations group, even though I understand what the integrity group does I still have a huge learning curve in front of me. I am very excited about all the new responsibilities that I have and the amount of information I will learn. So far it had been extremely busy trying to wrap up last years stuff, finish all the work I needed to do for operations, learn my new job, and plan for the months ahead. We have already started a busy year of travel! This last Monday I headed out to Hattiesburg, Mississippi for our Gulf Coast division kick-off meeting. It consisted of reviewing all engineering projects for the year and integrity presentations. Turns out I will be presenting at our next kick-off meeting...I am so nervous. I know that sounds strange coming from me, because I love public speaking. My only concern is I will be presenting to Directors, District and Division Managers and field guys, and I can assure you they all know more about what I am talking about than I do. Should be interesting! When we are not traveling we are in the office with tons of work and back to back meetings so I have adjusted my hours 7am to 7pm! Thankfully it will not always be like this, I just have a couple of huge deadlines that need to be met.
Anyway enough with the work chit-chat and on to the good stuff. My spare time...wait what spare time!!
I am still working out hard at Crossfit and loving every minute of it. I have noticed that my lifting ability has improved quite a bit. I am also training for a half marathon that I will be running in New Orleans at the end of February. I am a little behind on my training due to messing up my IT band back in September. I jumped the gun the first time I tried to train and ended up hurting myself. I am taking it slow and easy this time allowing myself plenty of rest and recover. Tomorrow I have a nice 5 or 6 mile run.
Last weekend was a really good nice long weekend. The weather was terrible, cold and rainy, thankfully most of my time was spent in doors. Friday I met the girls for dinner at this small family run Italian restaurant. All the pasta was handmade and delicious. After dinner the girls decided to call it a night and I ended up going two-stepping with a friend of mine. Saturday morning I needed to get a run in so I braved the cold misty outdoors and did a four mile run. After the run I met some up with some coworkers to watch the A&M vs Kentucky basketball game. The ags looked really good and ended up winning, cant say they did so good last night :(
Sunday was a relax and do absolutely nothing kind of day. After church I did laundry, vegged and read. That evening my friend Darleen came over for dinner and a movie. I made jerk inspired pork chops, rosemary oven roasted potatoes and grilled veggies. Every thing actually turned out really well.
Well folks it the weekend again and I am getting ready to relax. Tommy will be in town so I am sure there will be lots of activities to participate in. Enjoy your weekend!
Until next time
Tory
Anyway enough with the work chit-chat and on to the good stuff. My spare time...wait what spare time!!
I am still working out hard at Crossfit and loving every minute of it. I have noticed that my lifting ability has improved quite a bit. I am also training for a half marathon that I will be running in New Orleans at the end of February. I am a little behind on my training due to messing up my IT band back in September. I jumped the gun the first time I tried to train and ended up hurting myself. I am taking it slow and easy this time allowing myself plenty of rest and recover. Tomorrow I have a nice 5 or 6 mile run.
Last weekend was a really good nice long weekend. The weather was terrible, cold and rainy, thankfully most of my time was spent in doors. Friday I met the girls for dinner at this small family run Italian restaurant. All the pasta was handmade and delicious. After dinner the girls decided to call it a night and I ended up going two-stepping with a friend of mine. Saturday morning I needed to get a run in so I braved the cold misty outdoors and did a four mile run. After the run I met some up with some coworkers to watch the A&M vs Kentucky basketball game. The ags looked really good and ended up winning, cant say they did so good last night :(
Sunday was a relax and do absolutely nothing kind of day. After church I did laundry, vegged and read. That evening my friend Darleen came over for dinner and a movie. I made jerk inspired pork chops, rosemary oven roasted potatoes and grilled veggies. Every thing actually turned out really well.
Well folks it the weekend again and I am getting ready to relax. Tommy will be in town so I am sure there will be lots of activities to participate in. Enjoy your weekend!
Until next time
Tory
Saturday, January 5, 2013
So long 2012, Hello 2013!
2012 was quite an epic year therefore it deserves a nice recap.
January
Took a great snowboarding trip to Denver.
February
Joined, fell in love, and became obsessed with Crossfit
March
Christy spent her spring break with me in Houston!! We took a trip to the rodeo and enjoyed St. Patrick's day.
April
Lots of weekend adventures Aggie baseball, weddings and such
Followed by an incredible trip to Brugges, Belgium and Paris, France!
May
Weddings, Christy's 21st Birthday and South Carolina trip
June
Work trip to Canadia, shooting and rock climbing.
July
Trip to DC
August
Skydiving and symphony visits
September
Aggie football and a great trip to Costa Rica with good friends!
October
Fishing trip to Lousiana
November
Thanksgiving and family time!
December
Christmas Vacation, Family time, and my 25th Birthday!!
And thats a wrap!! Here is to 2013!! Hopefully I can stay on top of my blogging
Until Next time...
January
Took a great snowboarding trip to Denver.
Joined, fell in love, and became obsessed with Crossfit
Christy spent her spring break with me in Houston!! We took a trip to the rodeo and enjoyed St. Patrick's day.
Lots of weekend adventures Aggie baseball, weddings and such
Followed by an incredible trip to Brugges, Belgium and Paris, France!
May
Weddings, Christy's 21st Birthday and South Carolina trip
Work trip to Canadia, shooting and rock climbing.
Trip to DC
Skydiving and symphony visits
September
Aggie football and a great trip to Costa Rica with good friends!
October
Fishing trip to Lousiana
Thanksgiving and family time!
Christmas Vacation, Family time, and my 25th Birthday!!
Until Next time...
Monday, October 29, 2012
Costa Rica -Pure Vida
Costa Rica... in pictures. It would take days for me to write about all the incredible things we got to do while we were there.
Day 1 - Fly to San Jose, Costa Rica
Our group arrived in Costa Rica after a quick uneventful flight. We had charted a van to take us to La Fortuna where the Arenal volcano is located. It was a beautiful ride up into the mountians of Costa Rica. The scenery was incredible, rolling hills, lush tropical rain forest, and green as far as the eye could see. Along the way we stopped for lunch and fruit stand for a quick snack. The food and fruit was incredible.
The first day was spent exploring La Fortuna, relaxing in the hot springs and dinning on local cuisine. The next morning two of girls and I were up early to do some waterfall repelling. The rest of the group grabbed a taxi-boat-taxi ride to our next destination.
After the repelling we loaded up our stuff and caught a taxi, to a boat, to another taxi to get to Monteverde.
Once we arrived in Monteverde we met up with the rest of the group and had dinner. We stayed in the this fantastic hotel on top a hill over looking the town. After dinner at a local hotspot we hit a touristy bar for a nightcap. The bar was situated in a tree, therefore it was called the tree-house bar. We had really good adult hot chocolate and dessert.
The next morning we were up bright an early to give zip-lining a try. Monteverde is know for its cloud forests, so we were able to zip through the clouds. We were able to take a practice run on a small zip line and it was a blast I was ready to get this started! Then we took a tram up the mountain to the first line as we slowly ascended the mountain my excitement started to wan and turn to straight fear and trepidation. After the tram we had to hike up a 15 story tower. At this point I was second guessing my ability to make good decisions in my life!! How do I get myself into these situations. At the top the wind was blowing so hard that the tower and the zip line were shaking, or maybe it was me shaking so hard everything around me was swaying! I was petrified, I wanted to run back down that tower and never think of doing anything that involved heights. But I had come too far and paid too much money to walk away from it now, so I decided the only way to get this over with was to go first. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH and it was awesome, best thing ever, so incredibly fun!!!!! I just couldnt get enough of it!!
The morning we were heading back to the US and earthquake struck up north of us. Thankfully we all made it home safely. All in all it was a fantastic trip and I would highly recommend visiting Costa Rica.
Until next time...
Victoria
Day 1 - Fly to San Jose, Costa Rica
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| In the van on the way to Arenal. |
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| The hotel |
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| The spa |
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| The hot springs at the hotel |
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| Hot springs |
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| Garden area outside of our little hut |
The first day was spent exploring La Fortuna, relaxing in the hot springs and dinning on local cuisine. The next morning two of girls and I were up early to do some waterfall repelling. The rest of the group grabbed a taxi-boat-taxi ride to our next destination.
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| The ladies |
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| Maya, Myself, Ashwini |
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| First waterfall 109 ft |
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| The volcano |
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| More volcano |
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| The lake |
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| Our water taxi |
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| View from the hotel |
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| Treetop bar |
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| Post zip-lining high |
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| Baby practice run |
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| Surfing |
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| Riding the baby waves |
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| Manual Antonio |
The morning we were heading back to the US and earthquake struck up north of us. Thankfully we all made it home safely. All in all it was a fantastic trip and I would highly recommend visiting Costa Rica.
Until next time...
Victoria
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