miiiinor EARssue

I'm going to preface this by saying that I AM TOTALLY FINE!

I woke up this morning with my left ear totally plugged, which is not totally out of the ordinary with my ongoing sinus issues.  So I tried to do that hold your nose, close your mouth and blow thing to unplug my ears a few times (unsuccessfully) and headed to the office.  I was complaining about not being able to hear and all the pressure in my head to my office mates and I stuck my finger in my ear (too much information??) and blood came out on my finger tip....  

My office mates are two guys, one almost old enough to be my dad and the other, about the age of my other brother.  So I casually said something along the lines of "oh, my ear is bleeding, I'm going to head down to the clinic."  Both of them perked up and with slight panic starting asking what they could do for me...pretty much ready to carry me down on a stretcher.  

So long story short, I had to come into Malongo to see the doctor, and it turns out that I have quite the ear infection.  He loaded me up with antibiotics and anti-inflammatory, and I'm crossing my fingers that the pressure eases up before my flight Tuesday...there's nothing that's going to keep me from getting on that plane!

I'll stay the night in Malongo tonight and if I wake up feeling up to it, I'll head back offshore for my last day. And then I'm homeward bound Tuesday morning! 

26 days down, 2 to go!  xoxo...

backburner

Ok, so Bordeaux is still on the back burner.  The problem is that my phone with all my pictures - the new one that I bought post-Blue Lagoon debacle - never leaves my room.  So I haven't connected it to the wifi (which is a very rigorous process thanks to cyber security).  I tried to connect it directly to my computer, but that was even more of a headache because of encryptions and iTunes/iCloud confusion.  Bottom line is that technology is hard, and I have no pictures to share.  So my informational post about Bordeaux blends will have to wait until I'm home...drinking a Bordeaux blend ;) 

We have been going like CRAZY to get things ready to bring hydrocarbons onto the platform, and due to outstanding circumstances we are a bit delayed.  This news came in late this week, and I finally feel like I'm able to breathe.  Last night I left the office at 8pm for the first time since I got here...my normal shut down time has been 10 or 11 and then back in the office by 5 or 530.  So last night I was tucked in my 9 and I don't think I even moved until my alarm went off at 4:45.  It was AMMMMAZING!  

Even though it's 90+ degrees with 100% humidity, my mind is in full-fall mode.  I cannot wait to get home and gorge myself with turkey and dressing.  Not to mention the good company that I'll have waiting for me when I touchdown!

19 days down, 9 to go!  xoxo...

#TuffLove

My Bordeaux recap post will have to wait (yet another) week.  Something MUCH more important has come up, and I need to dedicate a week to a very special someone who just joined our family - Tuff William Howell!  My sweet cousin welcomed Tuff on Monday weighing a whopping 8lbs 13 oz at 21 inches long!  This little boy is already SO loved!!!

I have been on a week long groups text with my girls that include daily pictures and updates on our boy.  Needless, to say these definitely make my day...

GREAT-grand parents...THIS melts my heart

I cannot wait to get home to cuddle this little nugget!!!  It's going to be quite an exciting holiday season full of "firsts!"  ALSO - I can't forget to wish a happy birthday (again) to that cutie redhead up there.  Ma's birthday was on Friday, and I think it's probably safe to say that she had a good one with that babe :)      
12 days down, 16 to go!  xoxo...

late and long

I am going to preface this blog by apologizing.  It is SO long.  Almost unbearably long.  you may need to break it up and read through it in 2 or 3 days.  There is so much information, and I know I am leaving out a ridiculous amount of things.  I accept full responsibility for your pain because I was too lazy to get this done (as promised) last Sunday or the Sunday before...or the Sunday before that...

Also, since I'm back at work having all kinds of technical issues with getting my phone hooked up to the wifi (ugh!) I only have pictures that I uploaded befoooore I left.  So basically, what I'm saying is that I suck and this is NOT a complete picture of our trip...

first off I need to make one thing clear - mid-afternoon flights are THE BEST.  I am so used to getting up at the crack of dawn to make the first flight out OR jam packing 2-days into 1 for the last flight of the day (procrastination at it's finest).  NO MORE.  I had a 3:55PM flight from Houston to Frankfurt, and it was perfect.  I leisurely got up, had breakfast, went to my spin class, finished up packing (maybe a tad bit too leisurely) and headed to the airport....10ish hours later I was nervously waiting (yes, I am my mother) for my parents to get to our gate in Frankfurt to jump on a quick flight to LONDON!  

We got into our perfect AirBnB in the city of London, dropped our bags, and hit the ground running - straight to George Inn for our first pot pie, fish + chips and ale!  We then headed to Fort and Mason for proper English afternoon tea to meet Laurel and Jason - who just happened to be in London for a long weekend!!  

I think that if it would have been up to Mom, Dad, and I, we would have walked around a bit and then called it a night because we were full and sleepy.  BUT thanks to Jason, we hit the pavement to do a little pub-hopping!  One of Jason's uncles had lived in London for some time and he put together a list of his favorite pubs.  The best part about his list is that almost all the pubs that we went to were on the list of pubs that my girlfriend, Alanna, and I had tried (and failed) to go to a few years back (see 'Cheerio' post from March, 2014) - except this time they were OPEN!    

First stop was Grenadier an adorable little place, which claimed to be the most haunted pub in Londone - luckily, we survived.  Next stop was London's oldest wine bar about a block North of the Thames River, Gordon's Wine Bar.  This place was SO neat, but completely packed inside.  So we enjoyed a bottle of wine in the alley with all the other locals.  Thinking that we were probably all done for the night after a bottle of red wine, we decided to take a walk down to the river.  We stumbled on a beautiful walking bridge and then caught our first glimpse of Big Ben and the London Eye!  The combination of fresh air and some big London sights perked us all up and Jason was on the hunt for our next pub!  

Onto Ye Olde Mitre, which claims to have been established in 1546...crazy! It was pretty tough to leave this gem, but I had finally remembered the name of the only pub that Alanna and I found that was actually open - Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese!  I kept asking Jason if there was a pub on his listed called "something cat."  It's funny how the brain works.  I'm just I had cheshire hidden somewhere in my memory that made me think it was cat - and then it all came together.  I think the English ales helped me remember as well ;)

The next morning, we lazily got up and headed out for the double-decker tour bus!  We spent the day hitting all the London tourist attractions.  We had to go back to Gordon's Wine Bar to actually sit in the cave and fill up on wine, cheese, and bread - so good!  We had out last dinner - fish & chips and another pie

Our time in London came and went too quickly - Saturday morning we were Paris-bound!  We were all pretty excited to get on the Eurostar train and travel under the English channel into France!  It's a weird feeling knowing that you're on a train underneath a river - but we made it safe and sound!

We got checked into our Montmartre apartment, walked up the the 2nd floor and got our first glimpse of Tour Eiffel!  She's pretty consistent in taking my breath away :)  We hit the ground running in search of onion soup (which is basically what we lived on for our week in Paris - that and croissants). 

From there, we hit Notre Dame and then headed to see Eiffel up close and personal!  Things were a bit different than when I had gone last year - a bit more security, considering the Paris attacks were just a few weeks after my trip last October - but she was still as stunning as ever!  Especially when she started to sparkle....the pictures will never do it justice!  We headed back to Montmarte in search of what would become our French tradition - bedtime snack of wine and bread...hey, we are on vacation!  

The next morning we got up early (again) and headed to Versailles.  I was struggling with whether or not to take the trip out because we had such limited time in Paris, but Versailles is just too incredible not to see.  It was a quick trip out and back, and I'm so glad we went because they had different rooms open from last time I was there.

It had been far too long since we last carb-loaded, so we had to stop at a sidewalk cafe to load back up.  We needed the energy for all the steps we were taking...or at least that's what we told ourselves!  We met up with my precious aunt Carol, and headed up to see Sacre-Ceour.  As we were getting closer to the top of the hill where Sacre-Ceour is located, the area started getting more and more crowded, and everyone seemed to have wine glasses in their hands.  We finally realized that we were walking into a wine festival somewhere in the area.  Now, I consider myself a festival connoisseur of sorts, so I explained to my crew that we would likely have to buy tickets/get a wristband/go trough bag & ID check/etc in order to partake.  So I informed everyone, that we probably wouldn't have time to sip. We continued to walk uphill because I needed my parents to see the gorgeous basilica, and unknowingly walked right into the wine festival....joke's on me!  Anyways, we took a walk around the church and then popped back out for a glass :)  

One of my coworkers had spent quite a bit of time in Paris, and she said that we just had to go to dinner at Le Train Bleu.  I googled it and agreed, solely based on how beautiful the restaurant looked (judging a book by it's cover at it's finest).  The place it located in Gare de Lyon train station and it's where all the posh passengers used to wait for their trains back in the day.   The place was opened in 1901, and as we were eating there I was just imagining all Downton Abbey-esque ladies and gents covering the place.  

The next morning was (yet another) early morning.  It was out last day in Paris, and we still hadn't hit Sainte-Chappelle, Arc de Triomphe, or the Lourve.  I feel like all my early AM wake ups on vacation are just pay back to my parents for the unnecessary Saturday morning wake up calls during my 18-ish years at home...still today for that matter ;)  Anyways, we were up and at it packing up our lovely Montmartre flat to stop our luggage at one of the train stations for the day.  Once secured, we headed to Sainte-Chappelle.  I was super excited because this is the one place in Paris that we were going to that I hadn't seen - and it did not disappoint.  I had NO idea how much history was in this little hidden chapel.  It's surrounded by the Palace of Justice, so it's not as prominent as most of the other landmarks - and it shares the same little island as the much more popular Notre Dame.  Anyways, we probably could have spent 3 hours in the place looking at all the details of the stained glass windows - which depicted everything form the creation through acquiring artifacts form the Passion.  Just stunning!

We headed towards the Seine to get a glimpse of Notre Dame from the river and walked around the back, which (in my opinion) are even more gorgeous views than the more popular from entrance.  Next stop was the Louvre to snap some photos of the pyramids before we met one of my dear friends and her mom (who just happened to be in Paris) for lunch!  Maru moved to Paris earlier this year, and she continues to amaze me every time I see her - which is usually to few and far between!

After lunch we were on a train west-bound for Bayeux, which is where we would be for the next 2 days to experience the beaches of Normandy.  Now, when I started researching Normandy I was completely out of my element.  I originally thought we could just rent a car and drive to the major landmarks, and quickly realized that I had no idea what "landmarks" I was even looking for.  So I contacted Overlord Tours, and I am SO glad that I did. Not only did they recommend they full-day tour of Utah and Omaha beaches, but they also recommended staying in Bayeux - which ended up being one of our favorite stays on the trip!  Now, I'm about to blow your mind with information.  Our tour was so through, and I can guarantee that I'm missing TONS of valuable information but I'll share as much as I can remember from Operation Overlord (the code name for the battle of Normandy).  

Our tour guide, Michael, took us straight to some bunkers that overlooked Gold Beach - one of the 5 sectors of Operation Neptune (the code name for the Normandy beach landings).  The 5 sectors were Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword.  Utah and Omaha were the two sectors invaded by the Americans and were named by one of the generals randomly asking two soldiers where they were from - Utah and Omaha. Gold (Britain), Jelly (Canada), and Sword (Britain) were named after types of fish, but Canada who was assigned to Jelly said that they didn't want to fight on Jelly beach - so it was renamed Juno after one of the commander's wife.

So going back to the bunkers.  Germany recognized the fact that their Western front was exposed and likely where the Allied forces would try to attack, so between 1942 and 1944 Hitler had 15,000 of these things built along the Western coast of Europe - from Souther France up to Norway.  They were very well built, reinforced concrete structures that housed different sizes of guns and ammunition.  Some of them were completely empty, just a facade to make it look like the area was protected, but all the bunkers in the Normandy area were well stocked.  Most of the bunkers along the Western coast have since been destroyed, but we were able to see these still intact.  

These guns were meant to aim at the troops invading Gold Beach

Gold Beach is back to the right of this photo

So back to Operation Overlord and Neptune...Operation Overlord was the entire Western campaign to take Europe from France up into Germany to Berlin.  Operation Neptune was the first step to this campaign - the Invasion of Normandy.  The goal of the beach invasion for all 5 sectors was to be 10 miles inland on day 1 - June 5, 1944.  Unfortunately, the weather was terrrrrible on June 5th, so the invasion was postponed one day to the 6th.  It doesn't sound like the weather was much better on the 6th, one of the many factors working against the all the troops during the invasion.  Now, I'll re-iterate that we only took the tour for the American beaches - Utah and Omaha - so I don't have any information about Gold, Juno, and Sword.  I'm probably missing a TON of information about Utah and Omaha, so be sure to google and fact check me ;)

Seeing as Hitler had 15,000 bunkers built, he clearly knew something was coming.  There were also clear signs from the Allied forces that they were prepping for some kind of Western front attack.  One of which was an army on the coast of England that General Patton was heading up.  Little did the Axis forces know that the "army" was an inflatable decoy - courtesy of Goodyear Tire!  The Allied forces has also started air raids in the days leading up to D-Day.  The raids were successful in some areas, but failed in others - Omaha specifically...  

So as I said, the air raids to take out the bunkers and guns at Omaha were unsuccessful due to the thick fog and weather conditions.  There were several other factors of the invasion at Omaha that make it an absolute miracle that we were successful.  One of which was the terrain of the beach.  The invasion was set to start during low-tide, to eliminate any risk of the Higgins boats getting caught on the sandbars.  This meant that the troops would have to run, completely exposed for 300+ yards before even reaching the beach, and then another 200ish yards until they were semi-protected by the shelf and out of enemy fire.  Now, aside from the fact that they were being shot at from all angles, they were also having to navigate obstacles that were installed to protect the beach - mines, barbed wire, etc.  The first wave of troops included the engineers who were tasked with eliminating these hazards in any way possible.  So this already was a seemingly impossible task, but on top of all of this due to the harsh weather conditions not only was sea-sickness overtaking may of the troops, but navigation had been impacted badly and folks were not landing where they were supposed to be landing.  Despite what seemed like mass chaos, General Bradley recognized that although young lives were going to be lost, this invasion had been 1.5 years in the making and would be a critical turning point in the war. 

Looking up to the bluffs from Omaha beach

From Omaha beach, you can see an American flag flying above the trees.  This is where France gave land to America for the National American Cemetery.  This land is owned and maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission, and is one of the most touching places that I have ever been.  The cemetery is the final resting place for 9,387 souls including 1,557 missing in action and 303 unknown - only 40% of the total lives lost during the Normandy invasions.  The most shocking fact about this cemetery is that the average age of the souls was 23-years old.  

gorgeous ceiling of the chapel

One of the most famous sites in the cemetery is that of Theodore Roosevelt III (known as Theodore Roosevelt Jr. "Ted" the son of President Roosevelt).  Ted was 56-years old at the time of D-Day, and walking with a cane led the first wave of troops at Utah beach.  Sadly, he died of a heart attack in France following his success at Utah beach, but he was given the Medal of Honor for his service.

Just after walking in to the cemetery our guide noticed that there was a very large group tour in the area, likely veterans or families of veterans, and typically when they have large crowds like that they would play the National Anthem followed by Taps.   Shortly after he told us this, the anthem came on....probably one of the most emotional experiences of my life, and absolutely something that I will NEVER forget.

After about an hour at the cemetery we headed to Pointe du Hoc.  I had never even heard of this place  (common theme), but it is the highest point between Utah and Omaha beaches.  (Side bar:  our tour guide kept referencing the movie "The Longest Day" which seems like it pretty accurately depicts many of the events during Operation Neptune.)  Anyways, the Army Rangers were assigned the daunting task of scaling the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc to destroy 6 German guns that were located there - 3 aimed at Utah and 3 aimed at Omaha.  These were gigantic guns with a range of up to 15 miles.  The rangers were scheduled to arrive on Pointe du Hoc at 6AM to destroy the guns before the beach landings.  Since this was such a tough task, they were to call back to the warships by 6:40AM in the event that they were overtaken and needed backup.  Due to the harsh weather conditions and navigation errors, the Rangers ended up in the wrong location and they didn't arrive to the cliffs until around 7AM.  The first member scaled the treacherous cliff in 5 minutes, and all 225 members were up the cliff in 20 minutes - which is just absolutely amazing.  Once on the top of the cliff, they realized that all 6 guns were gone.  It turns out that the air raids in this location were incredibly successful, and in turn caused the Germans to remove all 6 guns to protect them from getting destroyed.  They were able to find the guns and destroy all 6 and secure the main, all while under fire from the Germans.  Back up for the Rangers did not arrive until June 8th - two days later - and during this time 90 out of the 225 Rangers were able to bear arms...pretty spectacular!  

One of the hundreds craters from the air raids

Memorial for the Army Rangers

Looking towards Omaha beach from Pointe du Hoc

One of the 6 gun bunkers 

The cliff of Pointe du Hoc

Our next stop was the town of Sainte Mere Eglise.  This town is famous because it was the first town in France to be liberated - thanks to the paratroopers of Operation Neptune.  Once again, I had NO idea how huge of a role paratroopers played in the Normandy landings.  Between the two airborne divisions (82nd and 101st), there were 925 planes carrying 13,000 paratroopers that were dropped inland.  Their mission was to gain control of the national highway 13 which went from Cherbourg to Paris and continue moving West to cut off the Cotentin Peninsula.  Now, I haven't mentioned Cherbourg, but this was one of the MOST critical cities to liberate because it was the only deepwater port and Germany's lifeline for supplies.  Anyways, we stopped in Sainte Mere Eglise for lunch and it was just the cutest little town.  It had a wonderful Airborne museum that we didn't have nearly enough time to go through...this is a pretty common theme in the area.  There are SO many museums with a wealth of information and memorabilia from the war.  

There was also a delicious quiche place....with equally delicious deserts ;)

EVERY town, large or small, always had a gorgeous church

We loved this - a few of the churches in the area has stained glass that included the paratroopers.  Needless to say, they are very thankful for our American troops

   
After lunch, we headed to Utah beach.  Unlike Omaha, Utah was a GREAT success.  The air raids were successful, they landed in the correct location, and the Germans did not have the geographical advantage that they had at Omaha.  The landing such a success that they beach was secured by noon, and the troops had moved inland to support the paratroopers.  There were only around 200 casualties during the landing, which (I'm sad to say) is relatively small compared to the ~2000 at Omaha.  

It was VERY chilly... 

Merchant Marines memorial...thinking of our Papa!

Engineer memorial

Our last stop was a tiny town called Angoville au Plain....

  
Ok, I'm pooped and there is still a whole city I haven't even covered.  So in order to do the lovely Bordeaux justice, I'm going to save that for next week!  Maybe I'll find someone who can get my phone set up to get some photos up as well...

Work is as busy as ever, so the days are going by quickly AND I'm back on my normal 28/28....which puts me home just before Thanksgiving!  I'm already dreaming of my Christmas decorations :) 

5 days down, 23 to go!  xoxo...

lost and found

So I've been home for a little over a week now, and it has been a doozy.  I am just now getting over a gnarly cold/fly/sinus infection situation that had me knocked out from last Saturday until Thursday.  

In the fog of my naps and nose blowing, I tagged along with my honey to Pasadena.  I had so many plans of spa treatments, #SoulCycle and #CorePowerYoga...but instead I spent the majority of our 3-day stay in bed.  I cannot complain one bit because I was in the lap of luxury at #TheLanghamPasadena.  This place was absolutely stunning, and I cannot wait until I can play housewife to tag along on Chad's next work trip 😜

I did make one outing that started out wonderful with breakfast at #UrthCafe, but ended with a police report 🙄  This is where my "lost and found" title comes into play... 

After my gorgeous breakfast, I headed to The Americana to make my afternoon appointment at the Apple Store.  You see, after dropping my phone in the Blue Lagoon (...full explanation to come with an Iceland post), I obviously had to order the new iPhone 7+, which arrived perfectly the day I got back from work.  Things were going so well until I thought that I was technologically savvy enough to set up my phone and get the mysterious cloud up and running with all my pictures. EPIC FAIL.  I got the phone up and running and NO PICTURES SHOWED UP.  Cue meltdown and 1.5 hours on the phone with Apple that resulted in me getting the "next available" appointment at the Apple Store in Glendale, CA.

Sooooo, I checked out of the hotel, loaded up the car and headed to Glendale.  I was 2.5 hours early for the appointment, so I took advantage and went to get a manicure (which I and still loving on...) 

I headed back to the car to grab my backpack and found this...

whommppp whoomp

I know, I know (Mom)...why did I leave my backpack in the car??  Well, I parked in the Bloomingdale's parking garage, our windows were verrrry tinted, and I try to be blissfully ignorant to the fact that there are very mean, terrible people out there.  So my laptop, iPad, old iPhone, and external hard drive with the backup to my laptop are gone.  All containing all of the millions of photos that I've taken on all of my travels, parties, holidays, and family get togethers.  Needless to say, that was the most devastating part of the whole situation.  Stuff is just stuff, but those pictures are my life in a nutshell.  Luckily, I've been uploading pictures to this blog for the past few years, so at least some of my travel photos are safely stored on this gem!

Chad decided that we needed to get the heck out of LA, so we drove - broken window and all - straight to the Hertz rental car counter in Bakersfield, which reminded us both so much of why we love Bakersfield.  No lines, no hassle, just a very friendly lady who got us back in a car and on the road in no time. 

Over the rest of the week I got a new computer (gold MacBook - which I am in love with), caught up with great friends, and we have made our way back to Houston.  Now I've got  few days in the beautiful city to get ready for my next adventure - London and Paris with my sweet parents!  We jump across the pond on Wednesday, and I couldn't be more excited for some fall weather, vino, and new memories with mom and pops!

Until next week - from Europe!!!  xoxo...

just like that

And just like that it's already my LAST Sunday offshore!  This has actually been a really great week.  Pretty much my favorite Korean (the one I have English lessons with) came back from vacation on Wednesday.  I told him that he is the glue that holds our contractor commissioning team together....which took a bit of explaining, but I think he was happy to hear that he was glue ;)

I usually start waking up before my 4:47AM alarm a few days before leaving (which is my cue to leave), but I have been waking up pre-4:47 for over a week now.  I love it and I hate it because I am usually thinking about something I had forgotten to do the night before.  Which I love because I have a built in reminder to do whatever it is that I missed, but I hate it because I'm dreaming about work.  Never in my carefree-life did I think that would happen to me, but I am a product of my sweet daddy...dreaming about work...

The good news is that when I get on the plane next Thursday, there will be NO dreaming about work!  My back-to-back will get in on Wednesday morning, and I couldn't be happier!  I'm going to go into camp Wednesday morning to do a face-to-face turnover with him for a few hours because SO much has changed since he left.  I have never spent more than an hour with him before, which is crazy to think about because I feel like I know him so well.  Such a strange life - my mom likes to remind me of that!

I missed a big weekend back home celebrating our soon-to-be first baby in the family!  My cousin Jessica is expecting a baby boy in November, and everyone is just over the moon.  There are countless people anxiously awaiting being able to call themselves grandma/grandpa/uncle/aunt/great-Ma/great-Pa...you name it.  But I think that more than anything, everyone just wants to get their hands on a baby! 

24 days down, 4 to go!  xoxo...

excuses

Ok, let's start with my excuses as to why it's taken me SO long to get a blog up.  The first week was explained in my previous blog - I was in a time warp and have no idea what happened between when I touched down in Angola on Thursday to Sunday when I should have had my time-off blog prepared to post.  Starting last Saturday we had a major outage of basically our entire network - no phones, no computer, no wifi - so that was a wash straight through the weekend to Monday afternoon.  


So that brings me to my second time warp...I'm not really sure how it's already Sunday again.  We have been SO BUSY that I am never quite sure what day it really is.  I did get the most wonderul news EVER....my back-to-back got his visa!  Meaning I have an end date to my rotation, and I will get a proper 4-weeks off...starting SEPTEMBER 22nd!

Annnnyways, I suck and I still haven't been able to write down all the details of my amazing trips to Idaho and Iceland, but here's a little photo gallery for your viewing pleasure :) 

17 days down,  11 to go!  xoxo...