Here and back again

Hello middle of July, where did you come from?  Feels like I was just sitting down goal planning for the work year and now its half way over.  I know I have been missing for a while and I keep promising to write, but it never happens.  Below are a few terrible excuses.

My last update was before I got shipped of to Canada for work.  Canada eh? Yes, Friday June 15, 2012 I was strolling out of work getting ready for an awesome weekend, when my head boss called me.  The needed my boss and myself in Canada by Sunday.  Ugh well there went my weekend.  I went back to work to book flights, hotels, car and get caught up to speed on what was going on.  I was there until about three sorting through the details.  We had a release on water and they need some Ops/Comm people to come up and relieve those that had been working for several weeks straight.  That afternoon my friend Liz came into town and we hung out.  Saturday we went shopping, to a pool party, and a friends birthday party.  All while packing and getting ready to leave with a one-way ticket to Canada!  Sunday morning I was up bright and early to get to the airport, thankfully it was a direct flight so we were in Canada by one.  After getting checked in we headed to the office to get to work.  Our trip ended up being 12 days and lets just say I was beyond exhausted by the time we got home.  We took one day to run up to Banff National Park and see Lake Louise and Lake Moraine.  It was worth the drive the area was incredible and the lakes were breathtaking.

Since getting back I have been swamped with work and spending every other waking minute studying for the GMAT.  I am really hoping to start Grad school in the spring, but I have to do well on the GMAT first.  The weekend after I got back I headed to CS to help Christy move.  Boy am I glad mom, dad, and Tommy were there.  It was a huge chore I had no idea how much work was involved!  We spent two days, packing, cleaning, fixing, painting and working, working, working. Its terrible, but I was glad to get home on Sunday to rest.  The rest of the crew was stuck in CS to finish moving.

The fourth of July came and went very uneventfully since I had to work Thursday, I hung out with the crossfit girls for BBQ and pool party.  That weekend some college friends came in for a few nights out on the town!  We had a great weekend.  This last weekend Christy came into town!  I love being able to see my sister.  Friday night we got all dressed up and headed to Blackfinn for dinner, after dinner we met up with some friends for drinks at Taps.  Saturday we relaxed and cooked some healthy and not so healthy food.  That afternoon my friend Ben came in and we headed over to another friends house for a bbq.  After stuffing our faces for several hours we decided to go country dancing at a local bar.  Needless to say Christy and I were exhausted on Sunday.  Around 11 we meet up with the girls that are going to Costa Rica with me for brunch.  After brunch we walked back to my house to plan our trip.  After all the planing it was time for relaxation...then back to the grindstone on Monday.           

First weekend of June, bring on summertime!

The first weekend of June turned out quite successful.  The work week weak was short with Memorial day on Monday and half day on Friday.  Even with a short week I was still looking forward to an incredible weekend. 

Friday night I met up with a few of the girls from crossfit to watch the Metropolitan dance company perform at Miller Outdoor Theater. I love summer time and I love weekends at Miller.  Its a free event for the public and you are welcome to bring food and drinks.  The girls and I took full advantage of this.  I brought a veggie wrap, cheese, crackers, popcorn, a bottle of wine, and cookies.  It was wonderful, we enjoyed an awesome picnic and some modern dance.  Sadly I missed the last two weekends (with the symphony) due to being in Canada for work...more on that in another post.  The show ended about 11:30 and we all went our separate ways.

The next morning we meet up at Ash condo for some pool time.  I spent a better part of the day soaking up the sun and relaxing.  By the time I got home I was exhausted so the dogs and I just hung out and watched movies.  Sunday was a very uneventful day after church, I cooked some lunch and spent the rest of the day reading and studying for the GMAT.  Then it was back to the grindstone Monday morning.  Tuesday after work some coworkers and I headed to the Astros to watch some baseball.  The best part about it was we had suite passes.  The suites were located next to the bullpen so we were able to talk to some of the players and get a few baseballs.  We were also privy to free food and drinks!  Let me tell you its a tough job, but someone has to go to these events.  The rest of the week was pretty tame nothing too exciting to note. 

Until next time..

Tory

Shooting, CS, and summer nights

Its the second weekend in June and boy does time sure fly...where did the first half of the year go?? As always the weekends are more eventful than the work week so lets just focus on the fun stuff!  Friday I got invited by a coworker to go shoot some sporting clays at the American Shooting Center in Katy.  It has been quite some time since I have been and was really looking forward to going.  Even thought I am ridiculous rusty, I had a complete blast (no pun intended)!  I will have to try and get out there more often.  After shooting I ran home, packed up myself and the dogs and headed to College Station to see Christy.  That evening we went to Cheddars and had to much food and some delicious margaritas! We were both exhausted from the last week so we went home and passed out. 

The next morning I was up bright and early, since Christy was still asleep I head to the grocery store to get the fixings for Whole wheat brown sugar banana pancakes with a vanilla maple glaze.  Yes, its ok to be jealous and yes, they were incredibly delicious!  They were just about finished when Christy crawled out of bed (convenient).  They actually did turn out really really good they tasted like banana bread with doughnut glaze yummmy (not healthy)!  After breakfast we went to the gun store to get Christy's birthday present.  After gun shopping we headed to grab some lunch before checking out some houses for Christy to live in.  We were completely unsuccessful in the hunt, thankfully one came on the market recently and she now has a place to stay. 

Since Christy had to work that evening, I washed up the dishes, packed up the girls and headed back to Houston.  That evening I met the crossfit girls for dinner and drinks.  We started the evening off at 13 Celsius a little wine bar in midtown, we each enjoyed a glass of wine and a cheese plate.  For dinner we headed over to Lucios.  Lucios is one of my favorite restaurants, the food is incredible and the service is good.  I had the herb roasted chicken with yam puree, crispy prosciutto, and a natural reduction for desert we shard a chocolate brownie cake and creme brulee.  The creme brulee was probably the best thing I have had in a long time.  After dinner we did some bar hoping and then I headed home.

Sunday was a day for rest and relaxation the little girls and I read, studied, napped and cleaned all day long. 

Until Next time...

Tory

Memorial Weekend

Hello to everyone!  I hope everyone had a wonderful and fun filled Memorial Weekend....cause I sure did.  Granted I truly missed spending time with the family at one the awesome pool parties, but visiting Chris is SC was pretty exciting.  Since it was a long weekend Chris flew me up to Greenville so we could explore his new little town.  Lets just put it this way it was quite a bummer land back in hot ol Houston.

I took Friday off to make it nice long weekend and head up to SC Thursday night.  Since Chris had to work a half day Friday, I took advantage of my day off.  After sleeping in, I got up and headed for a run to explore the neighborhood.  Chris lives about two blocks from a neat downtown so I headed that direction.  The main drag has tons of little shops, restaurants. parks, theaters, and lots of things to do.  A nice little river runs through downtown, I ran to the river, around the park and back to his apartment.  It was a good morning work out with  great scenery.  After Chris got home we walked back to downtown to eat at a little southern fare restaurant.  After lunch he showed me around downtown and then went back to the casa to relax.  That evening we met up with one of his coworkers and his wife for dinner at "famed" BBQ joint.  Now Carolinian's rave about their BBQ and to be honesty I don't know what about, Texas BBQ is the best.  After dinner we drove to Clemson and checked out the campus and the college town.  It reminded me a lot of A&M and the scenery was beautiful.

Saturday we got up early and headed to the farmers market in downtown, we did a little shopping and ate some Shrimp and Grits for breakfast. Since Chris is very close to mountains we decided to spend the day hiking and exploring the different trials.  It happened to be perfect weather for hiking we did two different trails and got to see a couple of waterfalls along the way.  By the time we got home I was beat, even though I am in fairly good shape hiking took it all out of me (it might also have been that Chris hikes at a strenuousness pace, if its a 3 hour hike he completes it in 1.5).  That evening we went to a nice little Italian place for dinner and I enjoyed several pounds of delicious pasta and a glass of wine. After dinner we went to a little wine bar to explore the Greenville nightlife, the people watching was great.

Sunday it was up bright and early again to go hike some trials in North Carolina.  For lunch we drove into a little town and had a delicious lunch at a farm to table restaurant.  The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing and watching movies.  Monday we decided to rent a jet ski and play on the lake for a while before I headed back to Houston. I have never ridden a jet ski and boy was I missing out.  I am not going to lie I was terrified, I thought I was going to die when Chris was driving.  (Please not this does not reflect on his driving skills, its just a whole ton rougher for the person on the back)  Let me tell you the minute I got behind the wheel it was pure FUN!!  I was chasing speedboats and hoping their wakes, I am pretty sure we got up to 60 something speed wise.  The lake was gorgeous, the weather was perfect, and the water was warm... couldn't have asked for a better way to end the weekend.  Then it was back to reality sitting in the Greenville Airport.