Halloween No Tricks Just Treats

Enjoying a little down time between projects.

Notice the strawberry cheesecake.

It's our fright night treat.

Pulling out of Lewisville, TX

Leaving Lewisville, TX today.  Going to stay the weekend in Oklahoma.  Come Monday we can remain in OK, return back here, or move on to our next project.  It all depends on contracts, agreements, and weather.

View of Houston, TX from Westin Oaks Hotel

Yesterday, we went into the middle of Houston.  This photo was taken by Woody from the 9th floor of the Westin Oaks Hotel at the Galleria.  This is the view we had across the way.  The traffic down below in front of the Galleria was nonstop bumper to bumper.  When we left around midnight the traffic had not died down at all.  As usual the Texas skies were beautiful.  As much as we travel across the USA, neither of Woody or myself have ever been to Houston. Aside from the humidity, we've enjoyed our visit so far.

Woody: Man of Many Talents

Today, I stayed behind while Woody went to check in at the office. Our dilemma is that although we found a place to stay last night. We must be out of this space by noon as it is already reserved for someone else. It's Memorial Day weekend, so finding a suitable location will be challenging. We made many calls to a variety of places and have placed ourselves on waiting lists. Woody finally received a call back from one of our prospects. They have a place for us and we can move over immediately. I quickly packed up and pull in the tip outs. Woody arrived shortly after and we pulled out from Destiny RV Park and headed to Sandy Lake RV Park in Carrollton, TX. We did a temporary setup since we are unsure how long we will be in this area. Tomorrow Woody will report at 4am to his new project. The PM for this job is Eric Rawlins. It's about a ten day job. But tonight, it's relaxation time and Woody created a fabulous dessert.

Pizza Party

We have a 2007 Keystone Challenger 38' fifth wheel RV trailer. It has one bedroom with closets. A full size restroom with full size shower, lavatory, and toilet. A kitchen with a stove, fridge, double sink, two islands for cooking. A living area with two recliners, flat screen tv, book shelves, cabinets, office desk & work area. And a dining room with dining table and four chairs. Woody and I comfortably live here while on the road traveling for the company. But while in Texas we have hosted a variety of gatherings for NASCAR weekends at Texas Motor Speedway. But in Littlefield, we managed to entertain my family and friends for a pizza party during our one day stay. It's a shame that we don't get to visit our family and friends more often. So in an attempt to see everyone at once, we called everyone to come out to see us at the Waylon Jennings RV Park in the Littlefield National Forest. At one point we had 23 people over. With a total of six large pizzas, two pans of lasagna, and 40 hot wings, we still had loads of left overs. We talked and laughed until late into the night. Finally we said our goodbyes. This morning we pulled away. Liz of course came out in the morning to say goodbye, again. It's hard leaving so soon. But we had a great time. Today is Mary Jane's Birthday...HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Littlefield McDonald's

Our Project Manager, Michael Sawyers, had Woody go take a look at pending work at the McDonald's Woody completed a couple of years ago. First we had a homemade meal at my parents with all my brothers and sisters and some of my nephews & neices. Woody went on to McDonald's after lunch, while I headed back to the RV to prepare to visit with my family later in the afternoon. The day was gone before we knew it and in the morning we were traveling to corporate office in Lewisville, TX. But today, we are enjoying the company of our loved ones. This is a photo of my sisters, Linda & Lori.

RVing Unique Style

So we pull into a gas station to fuel up. It's a chance to stretch, freshen our drinks, and get one last view of this beautifully ENCHANTING LAND called New Mexico. Then I glimpse a view of something that you don't see just anyday. An old school bus has been transformed into a live in home on wheels. Attached to it is a pull trailer. Traveling with this group is an old pickup truck modified and able to pull an older pull trailer. It's an interesting setup. I'm mostly curious about how far they are traveling, where their final destination is and of course the set up of their units. Well, we are headed into Littlefield, TX. We are going to soak up all the views we can on our way out of New Mexico.

Goodbye, Texas. Hello....

Well, today we started by packing up the RV. Woody went to the Lewisville to the corporate office to pick up the packet and plans for the new project. We will begin on Wednesday on a remodeling of a McDonald's in Santa Fe, NM. We are so excited about our new assignment. We will use the time on the road to get familiar with the plans and job schedule. Meanwhile, we will be working for a different project manager, Wyatt Moore. Michael Sawyers, our Project Manager, will also be involved. We left Texas Motor Speedway and started on our way when I took this picture. Already I see West Texas around the corner, but no time to stop and see the family. The job awaits us.

2008 Texas State Fair, Dallas, TX

Before leaving Dallas & heading back to Fort Worth this weekend, we stopped by the 2008 Texas State Fair. Signs that the economy is not in a great position were clearly visible. No lines, no crowds, no rush. But that didn't take away from the beautiful sights we enjoyed. Some of these photos were taken from our view at the top of the Texas Star, Texas Fair's Ferris Wheel.

Woody Experiencing Withdrawls

Here it is already THURSDAY. The week went much too fast. Tomorrow we'll be off celebrating the 4th of July weekend. Our goal is to finish all the training we'd scheduled for this week before setting of to our next project. While we've been training & relaxing this week, Woody made every attempt not to use THE FINGER. But he was unable to go the whole week. I tease him all the time that when he goes to work, he wears out his finger point at this and that and all he wants done. And although he didn't make it the whole week, he did a good job trying.

Down Time

Finally, we've managed to find time to take it easy for a little while. So what do we do when we aren't working. Well, we call it relaxing, but others may consider it continued work in a different form. We have enjoyed taking time to integrate some exercise into our daily activities. The RV Park has a really nice swimming pool. We've also been doing some work on the RV that we've neglected while working long hours. More importantly we're using a large amount of our time to review or refresh our 7 Habits of Highly Effective People knowledge. We also had a Project Manager recommend THE SECRET as a good read. And it has been an excellent addition to our 7 Habits. Finally, we are finishing our OSHA Course. We're actually behind schedule. However, when we are working with no days off and long days, it's impossible to study or test. By the end of the week, our health, our home, our minds, and attitudes should be sharper, stronger, and ready for our next project. One particular item, we are both practicing is NOT MAKING ASSUMPTIONS. We found a shortcut for remembering that I'd like to share:

Abbott: Put that cigar out. QUIT SMOKING!

Costello: I'm not smoking.

Abbott: Sure you are.

Costello: No, I'm not. I'm wearing shoes, but I'm NOT walking.

Things are not always what they seem....Our goal is to be more thorough with our observations before making conclusions.

Interesting Side Note:

When we left Irving, TX for Marietta, OK, we placed a large amount of our "work" items in storage. This gave me room in the RV to pack items in places I don't normally get to use for storage. The first week in Marietta, I unpacked only the items we would need for 2 or 3 weeks. Now that we are at our new location I unpacked a few more items so that we could be fully setup for the July 4th weekend. Inside one of the cabinets I found a plastic kitchen trash bag, I pulled it out, opened it and found this plant inside. It had been there since we left Irving! No light, no water!!! Now it was almost dead when I placed it there. I forgot all about it. Good thing too because now it's GREEN...it wasn't before. And it's grown a good 1.5 inches!

Clue #4:

Wildlife, birds, nature, and Woody's pets. Woody's pets are excellent. He's got some pink flamingos that follow us everywhere we go. They are easy to handle & practically maintenance free. Today they attracted other birds & a squirrel or two. Notice that we've set up the ladder ball. Sunday during the race we were able to play during race breaks.

CLUE #3:

Yesterday was warm....about 100 degrees. The pictures show what it looks like looking out our front door. Sun shining, water in the stream, people were kayaking earlier. Then in the afternoon, I was on the floor with my head tucked in the corner between the stove & the island. The wind picked up, it rained hard, and then hailed. Ever been in thunderstorm while in an RV. The sound is definitely amplified. Before too long it cleared up enough to take more pictures. Then this morning at 4:05am I awoke to another severe thunderstorm. It ended at about 7am. Now it's partly sunny and warming up, highs expected to reach low 90's.

Clue #2:

On the way here, we stopped at a boot factory. They also had an onsite store where you could buy boots they had made in the factory. We didn't have time to take a tour, but we did do a little shopping! We were both in need of some work boots & shoes. Woody got a great deal on some new OSHA approved boots. I, also, got boots. And, I, also, managed to get a pair of great shoes for work.

GPS is Set and the location is.....

....I'm not telling, just yet. But we'll give you some clues.

Clue # 1: Tonight we're sleeping in the same spot in a different place.

Movin' Out & Movin' On

While we were in Marietta, we stayed at the Red River Ranch RV Park in Thackerville, OK. Very quiet place in the middle of nowhere & everywhere. We were about an hour from Dallas and just a little further from Oklahoma City. The 15 minute drive to work each morning was beautiful, no traffic, and great time to focus on the day. The 15 minute drive home was just right for unwinding. Here is a view of the RV Park.

So it's goodbye to Marietta, OK, and hello, ___________!

Everyone wants to know where are we going next. We are often left wondering the same thing up to the last couple of days before we leave.

Change the GPS....

Well, we just received word earlier this evening that we are needed in Marietta, OK ASAP. Let's see it's Friday night and the weekend will be gone before we know it. Tomorrow we'll cancel all plans and reservations for Wichita Falls. We will also pack the RV and leave for Marietta right after lunch. We already know Marietta has no RV Parks, so we'll have to make arrangements for our RV. We'll spend Saturday setting up, then Sunday is not only Woody's birthday, but also, Race Day! Knowing Woody, I wouldn't be at all surprised if we were inspecting our new job within 15 hours. We're both very excited. The job at Marietta is almost complete. They are about three weeks from Grand Opening! Guess what type of restaurant it is? McDONALD'S!

On the Road in the RV...

The thing is we can't take it all with us. Let's see we have things in storage at my mom's and things in storage at hid Dad's. And now we have storage in Dallas. I must say though we've been unable to add much to our collection of STUFF...we've been working too many hours and too many weekends to go out shopping. Yet, somehow in less than a year we've accumulated enough things to fill this storage unit. Unbelievable. We have been able to spend today working from home on reports, and forms needed for the next job. Woody has spent a lot of time packing and boxing things we won't need in Wichita Falls. Since this is a temporary project that is about 6 weeks from completion, we won't be gone long. The superintendent at Wichita Falls sounds very excited to have us come join him and help him. It's always great to be able to work with fellow Parkway people on a project, especially when they are so welcoming. See you soon, Pete!

Some say hospitalized...I say SPA!

We arrived in Littlefield on January 17, 2008. The weather was cold. And although it was not snowing and we were no longer in the mountains the air felt COLDER than the cold we experienced in Ruidoso, NM. The first two nights in town, we visited my sister one night and my brother the next. Each night we were in the company of all my brothers, sisters and their spouses, along with my parents. But each night I felt exhausted at the end of the evening and had a horrible headache. The next morning I awoke with fever and extreme pain. I slept most of the day and had no energy. My fever refused to break. Somehow we got through the night. I felt exhausted. The next day my mother and sister came to help with cleaning and to bring food. I still didn't feel better. That evening, they finally took me to the emergency room. After some injections and medication, I was sent home. Next morning, Woody went and made an appointment at the clinic for me. Once the Dr examined me, I was sent over to the hospital. We'd hoped that I'd stay the night and be able to be released the next day, but it took a bit longer. The long days and nights of the ABQ, NM job had finally caught up to me. When I was awake I'd find Woody at my side, looking rather worried. When the Dr came in, I'd remind him that Parkway, McDonald's and Michael Sawyers were waiting for our arrival in Dallas. Finally the Dr released me Friday. While I dressed and showered, Woody went and packed the RV. He picked me up at the hospital. I slept and when I woke up, we were in Dallas. Thank you to Mary Jane, Patti, Liz, Lena, Mom, Linda, Marisol, Mary, Danny and Woody that kept me company in the hospital. And a special thanks to Dr Lentz, the nurses and staff that got me back on track so soon.