Elopement!

After ~9 years of dating, Matt an I finally made our partnership legal. That's right, we got married! We had a nice little joining at our house at 7:30 on February 29th, 2012. We were married by a wonderful woman, Rowan TwoSisters with Grady and Bobert in attendance. Matt had dubbed Grady the best man, but I think Bobert did a better job stikcing around. Follwoing the signing of the license we Skyped my mom, dad, sister, Jeff, and Jaxon. Each of us had a bottle of champagne- we popped the cork and toasted to our union.

Here are a couple of pictures.

Our signed marriage license!

Cupcakes picked up from 'What;s up Cupcake?"

On a side note-- I finally finished a project. We had a scrap challenge for the Houston Modern Quilt guild. I made a little drawstring bag (rawstring yet to be inserted). I use up most of the scraps and had a fun time making it. One day I will graduate to complicated patterns-- just maybe.

This may explain my inactivity on-line

So I haven't made the time to make any blog posts. I suppose i truly have no excuses except that I have been mentally concerned with other things in my life. There have been lots of changes in the last 5 months- 1) Work has been extremely busy with an upcoming drilling well, 2) Matt started a new job that he really likes, and 3) we are expecting a little baby boy on July 8th! This may be my main distraction. Instead of blogging I have been thinking about what I need to get, finding a doula, setting up child care, deciding my future work schedule, planning trips, etc. This is a fun process, but a little overwhelming at times.

I am currently 19.5 weeks pregnant. The ultrasound below is my 18.5 week image. He is pretty cute. During the whole ultrasound session he wiggled a little but the majority of the time he kept his arms covering his face and his legs in lotus pose....my little yogi :)  I only hope he is calmer than I am most of the days.

18.5 weeks old!

On the crafting front. I finally completed my little pinwheel baby quilt for my friend, Shelley. Unfortunately it was several months late. Right now I am working on a beetle bug quilt for my friend, Heather, who is due any day now. I have a little gender neutral panda quilt in the cue for my friend, Keena (due in May), and a Richard Scarry 'busy town' quilt for me. I am also hoping to knit up a few baby rattles and sew a little stuffed owl for my little boy. I have been obsessed with owls lately. There is some super cute fabric and designs out there. This is the bedding I am currently thinking of getting- Hooty owls. I am just not sure if I can still paint the room green. What do you think?

Jay McCarrol Habitat challenge

I really don't know much about the fabric world. I like fabric, but I like music more. I mean I could spend hours listening and talking about the newest albums of the week, but get lost in the world of fabric names and designers. That being said....I think some fabric printsnare beautiful.
So for part of my quilt guild, Houston modern quilt guild, they participated in a Jay MCCarrol habitat fabric challenge. We all got some fabric from the new fabric line and were asked to make something. I planned on stepping outside my comfort zone to make a little clutch but have yet to piece it all together. So, I then decided to make a patchy wine bottle cover. I like it, it turned out quite whimsical.



It was fun to do and hopefully I can finish the little purse also.

On a side note- awesome new CD's
- Feist 'Metals'
- The Jayhawks
- My Brightest Diamond
- St. Vincent

I should write about some of these sometimes, but I never am good at explaining music. It just is and I love it!

Also-- for anyone who reads this and is interested. The guild is having a meetup for the quilt festival.

A halt in creativity

I have been in this waiting pattern to start a new project. I recently finished a scarf I need to block, a tank top I need to sew all loose ends in, and a quilt that needs to be basted and quilted. Then i have been working on picking out fabrics for a new project. This has been an adventure in fabric shopping all it's own. Basically I have come to the conclusion that Houston lacks the modern fabric store I desire and I end up shopping all on-line (thanks etsy!).

On the otherhand, I have been creative in the science part of my life. I successfully gave a talk at AASP, judged a poster competition, networked, and served on the board. I am putting a link for my abstract if anyone is interested.

https://www.ocs.soton.ac.uk/index.php/aasp2011/AASP2011/paper/view/105

This generated a wide rangeof conversations regarding palynofacies and their utility. This is a topic where more research needs to be completed, especially in modern turbidite systems. How can we fully understand the fossil record without a very thorough understanding of the depositional processes. I am hoping some young academics out there will get to the research portion of these questions.

Anyway-- here are some pictures from my conference trip.

Work and play

Unfortunately this is a word post. Hopefully fololowed by some pics. I am about to get on a plane a take a quick skip across the pond to the UK for an AASP ( American association of stratigraphic palynology) meeting. I will be giving a talk, taking a field trip to the Isle of Wight, and hobnobbing with other palynologists. Should be fun! Afterwards, Matt will be joining me from Home so that we may explore a little bit of Scotland. I hope to post some up-dates along the way.

Blog win!

I am so excited. I have never won a blog give away until today! I follow a whole slew fo blogs in order to get ideas about new quilt patterns, fabric, yarn, crafting in general. I love spending a few minutes a day checking all these cool things out. Sometimes I even leave comments for blog giveaways. I won one free yard of fabric from the http://www.sewmamasew.com web-site. I was excited abou their highlighting of orange fabrics because I am trying to collect a bunch for my next project-- a twin size coin quilt made out of orange fabrics. So I got to pick out a free yard!  I chose a made for Robert Kaufman print.

I love it. Let the collection continue!

Summer tank

After about a year of knitting on and off in-between my sewing distractions I have been working on a summer tank top. I finally finished it! Luckily I used a late summer color, burnt orange, so I am all ready for my Houston fall tank top sweater. The pattern is an Interweave Knits pattern called 'summertime tunic' by Katie Himmelberg.

Yeah for nice, simple and cute patterns.

Houston

People don't seem to like Houston. This is something I discover more and more with people I work with and people in the industry overall. Yes, geologists love the outdoors, we love rocks, we love mountains. Houston lacks a lot of these things. I thought this might be a reason why almost everyone who moves here doesn't like it. Over time, however, I have found that people don't like it because they don't like the heat. The heat and the humidity. So a city with some of the best art museums, incredible theatre companies, and opprotunities, diverse demographics, and some of the most wonderful food around has a bunch of people who live here and don't know how great they've got it.

The saddest part is that this decision to dislike the place they live come mostly from the fact that most people live in shitty suburbs outside of Houston and never go anywhere to experience everything the city has to offer. Houston is young (like most of the US cities). It has a lot of growing pains to go through. Pretty soon this adolescent city will find out that concreted strip malls and freeways are not the best growing pains. People are moving into the city, coming to the realization that there are ways to take advantage of the limited/no zoning laws. I can currently walk and/or bike to dozens of stores and restaurants.  This is amazing and a wonderful way to grow pride and love in your community.

Why, you may ask, did I start thinking about this? Well it has always been something that bugs me. I am almost tired of defending this city to people. The saddest part is that most people don't even know about the things I am defending. I am constantly making statements related to the abundant free art museums, prolific film community, great experimental restaurants, and vibrant music opportunities. Not only that but the city of full of communities and groups for just about any hobby you might have- sewing, quilting, knitting, wine, kayaking, art, biking, etc.  Just recently I joined a monthly quilting guild. We meet in a meeting hall in Central Market. Share ideas and crafts, trade fabric and books, and get to know one another. I like having this type of group to get together with and build community. It also has great demos. This month they did a hexagon demo. I think this is gonna be a great new traveling hobby.

In short, to everyone out there who bitches and complains about Houston. I just wanted for one last time to say. Houston is a good city. Maybe if you explored the opportunities here you would discover a part of Houston you might love. A city is only as good as the people who live in it. I want people full of energy and love of life. Not people who want to bitch and complain about the bad traffic (yes, it is), and the hot weather (yes, but think of the 6-7 months of awesome weather). I miss Louisiana-- I miss the humidity, the festival-like atmosphere, the friendly people, the delicious food, the southern flora, but this doesn't make me hate Houston. Embrace life where you are living it! That way it makes life for everyone a little more enjoyable. The city has a pulse an energy and I want that pulse to be lively and the energy to be warm and positive. Thanks and Happy exploring!

Shelley's quilt-o-whirl

Next in line is Shelley's baby quilt. I got to meet her little girl last summer and am happy to see she has another.her little one on the way. This quilt has been a little more challenging. I have constructed pinwheels. I don't have perfect points or alignments but I am working on it. I am also still looking for one more fabric to put in- between the white shushing separating my rows. Suggestions.

The pattern I got from 'quilting for peace'. A great book full of inspiring projects.

Here is an example of one of my rows.

Brandon's graduation

A couple of weeks ago. Matt and I traveled to the great Smoky Mountains with the sole purpose to see his brother graduate from Richlands High School in Richland, Virginia. In order for Matt and I to get to Richlands we had to fly into Knoxville, TN and then drive to Virginia. Since we were in Knoxville we decided to take a little detour through the Smokies and Asheville, NC. The Smokies were beautiful and did nt disappoint in the 'smokiness' aspect. It was great to see a whole new ecosystem.

I fell in love with all the rhododendrons, which just happened to be in bloom. I always loved the azaleas in Louisiana, but these rhododendrons are indigenous to the US and the plant itself (without the flowers) has a lovely shape. My favorite ones were the orange flowers. Great color. How often do you see such abundance of orange in nature!

One of the projects I was working on was a college quilt for Brandon. He got accepted to Virgina Tech. I was a little hesitant about making this quilt since the colors were orange and maroon. It was definately a challenge identifying good fabrics. I worried about making it too Virginia tech and also too picnic table cover. In the end I think it turned out alright (even if Matt's brother finds it kinda cheesy).

Finally!!! Congrats Brandon!

Baby number 3

This is the next (and last) baby quilt I have in the plans. Next in line-- Matt's brothers graduation quilt (Virginia tech).

This quilt is for my dearest, Brooke and Brandon. Brooke was one of my roommates and great friends while I was doing my Master's in Madison, WI. She is such a wonderful and beautiful lady. She provided me such support and love during my rough time in Madison. Her husband is an avid mushroom hunter and grower so I thought I would do a bright little quilt that highlighted mushrooms. I am not sure what the sex of the baby is, but I thought that this was gender neutral enough (a little to the girlie side, but mostly playful).

I need to also complete the quilting and binding process.  I see a trend here.

the finished product!

Quilt top #2-- Cottey baby

 This is my latest baby quilt. For all of you who didn't know, I went to an all woman's college for two years called Cottey College. It was in a little, middle-of-nowhere town in Missouri called Nevada. It was filled with traditions, silly songs, and female bonding rituals. One thing common was the iconography of ducks and daisies. We had duck jackets, duck passdowns, and a daisy ceremony. This needs more explaining than I willing to do right now, but it was like an huge college sorority.

Anyway, my roommate and suitemate, Betsy is having a baby at the beginnning of this month so I decided to make her a little ducks and daisies Cottey quilt. I just need to finish the quilting and binding-- easy enough- right :)

www.cottey.edu

Quilt top-- halfway there!

I decided to take a lesson from my mother and learn some quilting skills (plus I seem to have a lot of pregnant friends). I have taken one class on rotary cutting and am signed up for the 1/4 inch seam class. On my own I tried to do a quilt top following the tutorial on Cluck Cluck Sew, Road trip quilt.

I  just finished the quilt top last night and will try to get the backing and batting done this weekend.  Then I will be on my way!

2011

I have been randomly reading blogs only to realize how self-indulgent they can be. Oh well, I suppose I knew that, it just has become so apparent on Jan. 1st. 

So I may just play along, and write my accomplishments from 2010 and how I am going to top them in 2011.  Or I may just write a short list of things I am hoping to get done for 2011. In all actuality I was never a fan of making resolutions, not because I don't think I have things I need to improve about myself just a new calendar year never seemed like to time to think about these things-- the spring equinox seemed a more appropriate time for contemplation and rebirth.  Believe me I have tons of things I need to resolve.

List of 2011 resolutions
1. Make a resolution-- not sure why, but maybe I will shake my sarcasm, dry humor, and overall under-achievement to rise to higher and higher levels of betterment. Maybe I can fill out this form that evaluates my year and then set goals for the next year (ok- I am obviously not gonna succeed in this bullshit resolution........my cynicism gets the better of me).

2. Visit Meredith and Julie. It has been way too long since I have seen these two lovely ladies and we need some quality time with each other.

3. Get a paper submitted. I have several potential papers from my dissertation or work-related research. I need to get something out there.

4. Practice my harp 30-45 minutes a day. Matt and I have discussed the possibility of a performance sometime this year.  That would be super fun.

5. Get back into a good cooking schedule. I was quite lazy this year.

6.  Continue sewing and knitting-- I have no specific goals except to enjoy myself.

7. Give back to the community more- be it through handouts on the streets, volunteering at food banks, plant some trees, knitting hats, supporting the arts, etc.

Ok-- well I guess I am done. Off to making some black eyed peas and cabbage.

more sewing practice

I also whipped together a couple of wine bags. This was fun because I had to make a lining. It took me about 45 minutes to understand what the instructions were telling me to do. I only hope that the bags get reused over and over. This makes me what to sew some produce bags for the grocery store. I just need to find the right kind of fabric.

Ruffles and more ruffles

For my next sewing goal I wanted to learn how to make ruffles. This goal tied in well with the fact that I also wanted to give me sister something to wear while she bakes. (Note: She has recently started baking and decorating some awesome cakes..mmmmm.)

So I signed up for an ruffled apron class at Sew Crafty. And this is the final project (not ironed I know).  It was fun and I had a good time making it. Plus, it looked cute on my sister.

Next task- baby quilts!  I have three friends expecting this spring......whew.

Time to finally relax

I had meant to post this a month ago-- but never finished my revisions.  Now I have been on yet another trip-- a return to the California wine country. Except this time matt and I travelled for a day excursion to Mendocino valley-- the land of wonderful Pino grapes. We drank some great wine, saw lots of beautiful moss, and managed to bring back 12 bottles of varied and delicious California wines....mmmmm

This is the original post I had intended to write:
'After I returned from the Ryan Chouest I had a week and a half before I had to get myself ready to go out into the field for a BP subsurface and wells course in the Bookcliffs and Moab, Utah. This was a great 2 weeks, but it completely wore me out. Not to mention that I immediately traveled to Austin, TX for the Austin City Limits festival the day after I returned home. Suffice to say I am glad to be home and am looking forward to a little r&r and enjoyment of the Houston fall.

Here are some pics of the my SS&W class and the lovely rocks we visited in Utah and Colorado. It was great to finally get into the field again and see some rocks and think depositional environments and paleogeography. That is definitely my favorite part about geology, the fact that the rocks exposed tell a story about the way the world looked millions and millions of years ago.'

Now maybe I can finally relax and enjoy the fall in Houston.

Ode to the chefs

Today is my last day onboard the Ryan Chouest. It has been a great trip and I have really learned a lot of interesting life skills that I never thought I would be any good at. So after 2 weeks of being a communicator, organizer, decision-maker, I am happy to say that I am looking forward to returning to my quiet house and my quiet desk where I spend time on my microscope. I really loved this experience and have learned a lot about work at sea and the research that is currently going on the gulf. I have found great respect for these types of jobs. The jobs last from 2-6 weeks of being at sea. Once at sea the work is hard- shifts last for 12-18 hours. Sleep is a precious things. The other amazing thing is that everyday everyone intereacts with on another-- crews are often thrown together and immediately they must learn the ropes and get the job done without any conflict. It is truly team work.

Ole cook, Steve and I in the kitchen.

Today I want to spend a little time thanking the cooks (even though they may have caused me to gain 5 -10 pounds). These two guys worked in the kitchen non-stop, made 4 full meals a day, kept the kitchen in tiptop shape and since there was no dishwasher always cleaned the dishes. I will show an array of meal pictures and you will see how hearty the meals were.

Fried chicken, fried okra, and mashed potatoes

Crawfish etoufee, mashed sweet potatoes, and beans

Chicken fried steak, mac n' cheese, and peas

Boiled shrimp and peeled shrimp in butter

A well fed crew makes a happy ship!

Battle at sea

Last night was the ultimate battle at sea. The were thrusters engaged, instrumentation pushed to the limits, and all hands on deck. Well, ok, so it was not quite that exciting. I was quietly sitting in my office pod when I got a radio call from the bridge from Cpt. Bill, "Rebecca, um..you are needed in the bridge."  Uh oh. I thought maybe he had some concern about the remaining route, but it really had to do with the circumstances surrounding the ascent on the site locality we were targeting. At the same time that we arrived at this previously identified seep site we were racing a smaller research vessell to the same locality.

WHOI research vessell in same area when we returned in the morning.

So we did some investigation into the ship name and determined it was the Oceanas and realize that they were after the same seep. One of the C and C technology survey guys found a link on the internet that explained that the Oceanas was commissioned by NOAA and NSF and that the onboard scientists were from WHOI. So I started joking with our scientists onboard that it was the battle of the research institutes: WHOI vs. CSIRO. The Captain established contact with the boat after about 15 minutes discussion and we relayed information. They had just recently deployed a buoy with a sensor array into the water (move #1) and then they informed us that they were going to be in the area for 36 hours (move #2). So we told them we would get back to them about our plan-- commando mission- don't relay your plans! In the end we decided to do several 'clover leaf' patterns around the suspected seep (~2.5 hours) and then head south returning to the area we left about 5 hours ago to try once again to relocate potential seeps. So through the night we left the site, cruised south, and then right at dawn slowly returned to the original site and quickly slipped into position while the Oceanas was distracted. Check mate! Then we sat there for about 6 hours and dropped two CTD casts. All and all it was a pretty funny event. You sure do have to be cut throat in the science and ship biz.

CTD retrieval with WHOI ship awaiting locality

Coffee breaks

I think I have found my favorite thing on the boat. I only wish the previous days would have had weather like today's. Even though the seas are still pretty active (4-6 foot swells) the sun is shining brightly. I finally got to bed last night at 3:00 AM. Part of our goals yesterday was to relocate a previously documented 'seep' and do a clover leaf pattern around the seep to pinpoint the direction the plume was flowing. So at 12:00 we located the anomaly on the echo sounder and we proceeded to do this pattern across the seep until daylight. All these sweeps across the area provide us with an image at different angles which ultimately can be used to put together a 3-d idea of the plumes shape and location on the seafloor.

Morning coffee and morning view

When I woke up at around 8:30 AM this morning they had complted their cast over the seep and were heading to the next locality. The CTD and fluorometers did not read any PAH (polyaromatic hydrocarbons) at the seafloor and currently the methane sensor is not attached so we have not details on methane. We can try to deduce that the seep may be primarilty emitting methane gas by the readings from teh echo sounder, but there is no absolute certainty. Even the water samples collected will not be able to confirm this. So the 'seep' is still a little bit of a mystery.  After I did my morning rounds and e-mail check I brewed a cup of coffee. I then headed to the bow with a cup of coffee and sat there for about 30 minutes just looking out into the distance.  Hence, my new favorite thing to do on the boat. The ship noise is pretty much alleviated and all I hear is the wind and the waves crashing against the boat as we move forward.

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