Duck Season Started A Little Early

  This past weekend Jason and I made the trek west to Dallas, along with the other 80,000 some-odd members of the traveling Tiger Nation to watch the LSU football team play its season opener against the Oregon Ducks in what was dubbed as the "Cowboy Classic".  While the the game lived up to the hype, the new grandiose Dallas Cowboy stadium, along with its larger-than-life jumbotron, were equally impressive.  I think we both spent more time watching the game from the jumbotron, rather than the action down on the field.   A convincing Tiger victory was the perfect ending to a fun week. 

  On Wednesday, Jason and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary with dinner in New Orleans and Thursday we traveled on to Houston to pick up our New Zealand trophies, which only took four months to arrive and clear Customs (that process in itself is a lesson learned, but I will spare you the details).  For all the driving we seemed to do this past week(end), it sure beat staying at home and watching it rain. 

  Speaking of Mother Nature, our trip home on Sunday was forced into a slight detour as drought-stricken areas of eastern Texas were ravaged by raging wildfires.  So much so, that portions of I-20 East were closed for an extended period of time; thus, an 8 hour drive home turned into a 10+ hour crawl through the country roads.  In one such rural county which we came upon, black smoke could be seen billowing in the sky for miles.  As we approached this area,  the scenes were heartbreaking for the people whose homes were in the path of the fire.  All we could do was pull over and say a few prayers for these poor people.  Our hearts and prayers go out to all of the victims of these fires.

Unfortunately, I left my camera at home, so below are a few photos taken from our phones.



The JUMBOtron!

LSU Marching Band from Tigerland!

Standing in front of Cowboy Stadium before kickoff


 

The ESPN/SI pre-game activities were the perfect escape from the blistering Dallas heat!

 

Brazil Update:  FINALLY, we have a departure date--this Sunday!  Jason and I will fly from New Orleans to Houston and then on to Rio.  From there we have a three hour drive to Macae.  We will keep you posted on this adventure...ha!

Also, a special shout-out to my hubby who celebrates his 31st birthday tomorrow.  Happy Birthday J!

One Tank Trips...

  Recently, Jason and I took a few one-tank jaunts across south Louisiana for some culture and history.   Since both of us share an affinity for our state's colorful past and vibrant culture, we made day trips to Avery Island, the Louisiana Rural Life Museum, and the National World War II Museum.  We enjoyed each stop and highly recommend all three to anyone thinking of taking a road trip for the day; although, may we suggest waiting until the temperatures cool off a tad.   Here are a few snapshots from our field trips. 

Avery Island: home of TABASCO

Bottling operations

Jungle Gardens

This speaks for itself... 

This is what awaited him on the other side...

The National World War II Museum

This was Jason's first time to the museum and he came away with an even greater admiration for the soldiers, who courageously fought the battles of WWII.

Avery Fine Perfumery recently opened up shop in the Warehouse District, so I made a quick trip in before touring the WWII Museum.

Louisiana Rural Life Museum

Oh how I just adore Acadian-style architecture!

The Germain Bergeron cottage just so happened to be donated by the Wise family from Thibodaux, who live down the street from my parents

Jason thought this particular layout of the Dog-Trot House (c. 1863) would be neat for a hunting camp one day.

Jason standing in the wooden Oak Ridge Jail, believed to be the only pre-Civil War jail structure still preserved in Louisiana



Hanging Out in Houston

Can you say HOT???






Arriving in Houston late Wednesday afternoon, it didn't take us long to remember two things we didn't miss about the city: the snail's pace traffic and the blistering heat.

With Ensco now allowing their employees to work flex-Fridays, we had a little play time on Friday afternoon. We visited some of my favorite antique and fabric stores, which I would frequent when we lived here before moving to Singapore. Then we took in an Astros/Brewers game in the nightcap. It was nice to see some former UL and Tulane players make it up to the big leagues. Even though the home team lost, it was a fun date night as neither of us had been to an Astros game since the new Minute Maid Park was built.

I promised Jason I would accompany him to the Hunter's Extravaganza at the Reliant Center today since he was a good sport about tagging along with me on Friday; and, quite frankly, I enjoy hunting myself.

Hopefully, we should know something more on the status of our Brazil assignment next week--keeping our fingers crossed anyways!

Have a good weekend!

Location:Houston

Grand Isle: No Place I'd Rather Be!

  This past weekend our college roommates and close friends, Josh and Wendi made the 4-hour trek south from central Louisiana to join us for a few relaxing days of fishing and crabbing on Grand Isle.  This weekend also marked the return of the Tarpon Rodeo after a one year hiatus because of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill off of the Louisiana coast last April.  We couldn't have asked for a better weekend...the crabs were running, the fish were biting, and we were in the company of good friends!

Grand Isle!!

Friday night we went to the tent to check out the fish brought in by the anglers.

While the guys would have preferred to fish,  you can tell the surf was pretty rough Saturday morning. So we crabbed instead...

Catch of the day!

Wendi enjoyed her crabs, but Josh on the other hand, thought it was too much work...ha!

Nothing like watching the sun rise on an early Sunday morning fishing trip

As you can tell, Jason wasn't too happy with his camera happy wife...lol!

This was Wendi's first time back on the Island since our college days in 1999!!

Thanks to Captain Marty LaCoste for another fun and successful trip!

I would say he was one tired fisherman!

A very special thanks for Mr. and Mrs. Bob White for use of their camp!

Brazil Update:  While Jason and I never imagined we would still be state-side by August 1, we are anxiously waiting for the processing of our Brazilian visas and Jason's official assignment letter to be issued before we can head south to Brazil for a house-hunting trip.  In the meantime, Jason has been working in Broussard and he is scheduled to work a few days in Houston this week and next.  So our gypsy lifestyle carries on... 

Sayounara Singapore, Ola Brasil!

  Sorry for not updating in a while, but I figured today would be a good day to update everyone since Jason is en route to the U.S.   While I have been back home in Thibodaux since mid-May, Jason has been quite busy finishing up his project in Singapore.  I am happy to report that the rig upgrades were successfully completed on schedule and under budget--now, the newly refurbished rig is headed to work in Brazil via wet tow.  The rig isn't the only one criss-crossing the world.  We received word recently that Jason has been assigned to a position in Macae, Brazil (three hours north of Rio).  We aren't sure of all of the specifics on the move yet, but more details are sure to come later.  In the meantime, Jason is looking forward to spending a few weeks back home visiting with family and friends, fishing for some speckled trout, and eating lots of Cajun food! 

  Happy Fourth of July everyone!  As Jason and I have learned from living abroad, there is no better place in the world than the United States of America.  A big thanks to all of our veterans, who bravely serve our great country, so we can enjoy so many freedoms--THANK YOU!

ENSCO 7500 leaving the shipyard and starting the long and slow tow to Brazil

Seeing Black and White...

  Some of you may or may not know, but I arrived back in the States on Saturday--a few days earlier than my original scheduled arrival day of  May 9th.  And it has not taken long for jet lag to set in; hence, I am up in the wee hours of the morning blogging...

  Last Wednesday, my friend Jill and I spent the morning touring some of Singapore's beautiful colonial black and white houses as part of historian and preservationist, Mrs. Geraldine Lowe's heritage tours.  While the tour gives glimpses into the life of modern expatriate families, it also gives tour goers a sense of what life was like for colonial military families and officers living in Singapore during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

  Many of these white-washed and black wood-trimmed bungalows were built during the late 1800's and up until the outbreak of World War II during the British occupation of Singapore.  Sadly, only 300 or so of these colonial gems remain.  Today these houses and their lush green spaces are highly  desirable amongst the expat community, and are leased through the Singapore government.

  Boy, what I wouldn't give to be able to live within the walls of a black and white!  If Jason and I end up in Singapore for an extended time, we may have to look into one of these smaller b&w bungalows!

  Enjoy!

This particular Black and White rents for roughly S$13,000/month

This particular bungalow doubles has a home/antique shop for an Australian family

I love the double happiness jar display

This is the home of a South African hotel excutive and his family, who moved to Singapore last August

Did  you notice the top hat lighting fixtures?

The "black and white" theme is carried throughout the interior of the house as well

Just the thought of having a back yard...