Sandcastles.. not just for children anymore.

This was the 9th year that my company competed in the AIA Sancastle competition. This is a huge event put on in Galveston every June by the American Institute of Architects with most of the competitors being engineering firms, architechture firms and professional societies. There were 90 "castles" in all and there was some pretty amazing stuff out there. My company was right next to Bonnie's company, so that was a lot of fun. HNTB's theme was "June of the Penguins" and I had a really good time going back and forth between working my booty off and slacking off completely. The top picture shows our surfboard penguin still in very rough form with Rob using it's head as a coaster :) The bottom picture shows our completed site about 5 hours after we started.

What is your desk weirdness?

I just recently moved desks to make room for a new guy that starts tomorrow. (They wanted him sitting close to his supervisor… blah blah blah :) Anyways, I learned something in this process…. Every one of us has something that we tend to store up at our desk. I moved into Sameer's old desk and inherited his collection of white-out (7 different kinds in all), pencil lead (10 different kinds including four different colors), and a mass load of clear push pins (my guess is between 75 and 100, but I failed to count… sorry :) After clearing out his collections, which I found really weird, I realized I was moving in my own collections. To be specific, I have a collection of Post-Its (7 different types) and I also tend to hoard binder clips… I love the things and I have no idea why, as it is I have three boxes of them in my desk right now :) So the question is… what type of office supply are you currently building your own collection of?

Oh yes, and I also inherited something else from Sameer…. It's a glass mug with a picture of a sailboat and the name "Wayne" on it. If you ever happen to meet Wayne, let him know that I have his mug :)

Moments from my cousin's wedding

My cousin Chelsea got married yesterday and she had me and the rest of her cousins as the bridesmaids. It was.... interesting :) I've never seen a more relaxed bride... she walked into the church half an hour before the start time for the wedding with a bag of McDonalds and not a worry in the world. There are far too many moments to record them here, but I will bring you my favorite :)

We were taking the official pictures after the wedding. The photographer was the bride's step mother's sister and she was kind of pushy and I don't think we were ready for her type of "artistic vision".

Photographer- "Ok, I want all the bridesmaids to line up directly behind Chelsea and all the groomsmen to line up directly behind Fred. Now I want all of you to pop your heads out to the side."

At this point we are all thinking she has to be kidding, but oh no... she's serious.

Photographer- "Ok, you (pointing at me) switch with the girl behind you"
Me-"But Julia's taller than me"
Photographer- "Just do it."

So I switch and Jules pops her head out and I can't see anything and I start laughing so hard that i'm crying along with my other cousins.

Photographer- "Ummm, you who just moved switch with Erin."
Me- (laughing) "Alright, whatever"

We line back up and pop our heads out and all of the sudden loud anough for Nate to hear at the back of the church....

Erin- "I'm sorry, this looks completely retarded."

The photographer didn't appreciate it :)

It's a blog-checking kind of Friday...

Sooooo, this is one of those days where the weekend cannot come fast enough. I was busting it all yesterday to get out a report that was due (I love being super busy every now and then :) and I finished so today I'm on to some considerably less urgent work and i'm having a hard time with the concentration factor. I've made a basic equation to describe why I am how I am today:

Less urgent work + my boss being on vacation + it's Friday + i've got a 3 day weekend coming up = me checking everyone's blogs (and my Facebook wall) every couple of minutes to see if anything has changed :)

Stop and smell the roses, er.....daisies :)

I have a beautiful vase full of Gerbera daisies on my desk right now and I smile each time I look at them.... or when I type about them :) They were delivered yesterday and I have to agree with Meg Ryan's character in You've Got Mail, "Don't you think daisies are just the friendliest flower?" Anyways, this is me giving Nate his much deserved props that I can't really give him in real life because I am soooooo not the gushing type. So props..... mad props :)

Conversations with my boss... part 2

Ok, two posts this morning but this one is priceless :) At my office, someone brings in breakfast for everybody every Wednesday. This conversation took place in the kitchen the day our HR lady brought waffle batter and her waffle maker with fruit, yogurt and all sorts of amazing stuff to put on top.

Rob- “So who is bringing breakfast next week.”

Me- “That would be me… I’m kind of worried.”

Rob- “Why?”

Me- “Well, I have no idea how to top today’s breakfast.”

Rob- “Oh don’t worry about it. I’m sure you’ll come up with something. Besides, you’re single… I’m sure you don’t have anything better to do.”

Now any time someone asks me to do anything around the office it's become a joke that I'm single, what do I have better to do?

Mmmmmm, Cheesecake :)

For those of you that know me well, you will know that the best way to put me in a good mood and get me all excited is with good food. Some restaurants will always be able to accomplish this.... PF Changs, Pappadeaux, Taste of Texas, Melting Pot...etc. So yesterday Nate and I went to this restaurant Grand Lux Cafe that is owned by the same people as the Cheesecake Factory. The food was good but not spectacular, but the desserts..... OH MY GOSH!! They had only 6 flavors of Cheesecake Factory cheesecake, but they had my favorite.. Dulce de Leche Caramel cheesecake. Holy cow that stuff is good. The second half of my slice is currently beckoning me from my fridge. Yes, I CAN hear it all the way out at Greenspoint.... it's that good! Anyway, next time you have the chance, get Dulce de Leche.. if you're dissappointed then... well... you're a bad person :) p.s.- if you're really hungry, try the serving size below :)

True Statement

Everybody I love has left me at some point. For this reason I put my trust in God alone, the author of my faith and the lover of my soul. God will never leave you or forsake you.... and he will absolutely never move to San Antonio :)


"Who loves you more?" by Plankeye
I stir my cup and think of you; It's just the little things that break me
But it's not right to hold you so tight; I end up wrestling with God over you...
Whose hands are safer? Who could steal you from His grip?
It separates the ocean, with a brush so effortless...
There is nothing to worry about, because who loves you more than Jesus?
So here again I find myself and everything I've ever loved, at the foot of the cross with three nails
There is nothing to worry about, because who loves you more than Jesus?
If I hold onto you, will I let go of Christ? Will I end up denying Him in abundance of thrice?
Will I end up in the end with less than I started with? When I surrender...

Confused Bugs

The first month I was in my apartment last year, I came home everyday to find 2-3 more June bugs (mostly dead) inside the apt. I got used to it, but I can't say I was sorry to see that season go away. Well, I walk in my apartment yesterday and I find myself facing 2 dead June bugs and one very alive, very active June bug. After I did battle with that one, I began to dread the coming weeks. Someone needs to tell these bugs that it is May NOT June. As it is, I will arm myself with a can of Raid and my quick, cat-like reflexes that I may defeat any June bug that dares cross my path. Be afraid little bugs, be very afraid.

I'm a freak show....

So, I like my job. I am having fun today just because I'm working. I just thought i'd share that because I only ever hear people (including myself) talk about the times they hate work. Well guess what..... I'm at work and I'm having a rockin' time :)

p.s.- I know I left for two weeks, but I need some love from my faithful blog checkers. Is anyone out there?

Paris baby!!

Here are some pics from Paris... this is Amy and I in the Bois.

This is one of my favorites from all the pics I took... I have no idea why :)

Amy and Leslie bought a print at Musee d'Orsay for my parents and Amy refused to put it down on the Metro.... we took a lot of pictures, but this is the best.The Eiffel tower at night.... every hour it bursts into sparkles for 10 minutes. When I say every hour, this does not include the first two hours we tried to see it. The French have a slightly different concept of what every hour, on the hour means, but we went back a second night and caught it doing it's thang :)
The whole group on a walking tour we took around Paris. It was great! Our guide was funny and knew a lot about the history of the city. I'll admit I was skeptical, but i'm so glad I went!
Inside the Musee d'Orsay.. one of my favorite places in Paris.

Leslie and I being silly. We know the actual meaning of this sign, but some of the other interpretations are "No holding hands" and " No walking with giants" :)

It's Spain-tastic

I had such a great time on my vacation the past two weeks! It was great to be able to spend some time with my parents and see Europe at the same time. We started in Barcelona and it was amazing.

Amy and my parents show their audio-guide style in Gaudi's Casa Batllo :)

A view from the Basilica in Zaragoza, Spain.

Amy and I in the Parque del Buen Retiro in Madrid.

This is a really weird tree in Madrid.

Vacation, all I ever wanted... don't pretend you don't know the song :)

I am taking off today at 2 so that I can take off and go to Paris... woo hoo!! I get to go see my parents and spend a week in Spain and a week in Paris. It is sooooooo hard to work right now (which explains the early morning post :)

I got to thinking though, I have been trying to downplay this for the last couple of weeks because I am so paranoid about people thinking I am rubbing it in their faces. I realized that I always do this.... I am afraid to talk about the blessings in my life because I assume that instead of being happy for me, it will only make people bitter. I did this with the cruise in February AND when Nate and I started dating AND when I got a certain position in LH this semester. I had one friend in college who was this way, anything good in my life was something that she resented me for. As a result, I stopped sharing my joy with her and eventually I stopped sharing it all together out of fear of alienating people. Well, that stops now. I am going to see my parents and I am announcing that I am SOOOOO excited!

I hope my kids are this cute :)

Laney has gone a little smile crazy recently. Here are a few pics from when I was over there on Saturday and she decided to bestow some cuteness upon her Aunt Abby.

Daring Adventures in Company Cars

Here are some pics I took while doing field research for a project I am on... they are too good to not share them with the world :)

We're pretty sure this is a sawed off Geo Tracker... It did have some power to it though :)

Holy Name Catholic School... for those times when choosing a saint is just too taxing.

I'm not sure what commentary should go under a picture of giant presidential heads except to say that I'm glad the truck is there to show you just how massive they are. This IS in Houston, by the way... if you want to visit, i'll be more than happy to hook you up with directions :)

Facebook Follies

So I signed on to my Facebook account this morning... you know, to avoid starting work, and I found out that I was in a relationship with Harvard. Not quite sure how I feel about that... I mean 1 guy is hard enough, I don't think I'm ready to take on an entire college.

By the magic of the print screen key I have been able to display said relationship declaration for you, my blog savvy friends. I am kind of at a loss because it isn't supposed to be showing up and it won't let me remove it. Because of this, I have decided to embrace my new relationship and list a few positive aspects of it....

~Harvard has nice colors
~Obviously I am dating somebody really smart
~There are decent odds that I am dating a future doctor or lawyer (or really smart but unmotivated liberal arts major using daddy's money to get a useless degree :)
~I can act like an intellectual snob anytime I want
~I've been wanting to go to Boston for quite some time and I assume that if this is serious enough to be announced on Facebook, then I will probably be visiting them soon

Lessons in submission, and other fun stuff :)

As most of you know (because you go there too), First Baptist Houston has been going through Colossians together every Sunday for quite a few months now. When Gregg started talking two weeks ago about Colossians 3:18, I have to admit that I was dreading it. I was raised in a super conservative church where submission is a prominent thing and I am therefore accustomed to this line of thinking. The reason I was dreading it is because I help facilitate Hometeam, a coed small group bible study that talks more indepth about the sermons every week. Society today teaches women that submission means servitude and loss of identity and many women are not raised in churchs that address these falsehoods. I knew this topic could be very volatile and it worried me.

Within the first 5 minutes of the sermon, Gregg busts out with the information that the submission topic will be a two part sermon....CRUD!!! I get a text message from one of my co-facilitators that showed that he was less than enthusiatic about this development as well. To cut a super long story short, here's the run down-

Hometeam Submission Week 1- Chaos. Many girls offended and/or alienated by comments guys made about submission. We get WAY off topic and end up discussing the fall of man and whether it's ok for women to have epidurals ( I couldn't make this up if I wanted to :)

Hometeam Submission Week 2- Totally unprepared, tired, sick and worried Jeff, David and I dive in head first and..... God is faithful!!! We had an amazing discussion that was truly beneficial and relevant. Nobody was offended and everyone participated (no small feat in a group of 28) and everyone benefited. Praise God!!

My niece is cuter than yours

This is Elena Joy Elkins at 2 months old... No competition :)

Conversations with my boss... part 1

Martin- "I'm going to need you to fill in these matrices for the GEC. They're pretty long, so it'll take a week or so for all the corridors."

Me- "Oh ok, do they use these to choose which corridors are the best options?"

Martin- "No, not really..... we've already done the matrices they use for that."

Me- "So what are these for?"

Martin- " Nothing. The GEC will never look at them, the information you find to fill them in is not really being factored into corridor selection and they will most likely be filed away and forgotten within a month. It will probably be really boring too, but the GEC wants them..... have fun!"

I enjoy my job, but sometimes being the cheapest labor in the office kind of sucks :)

I had no idea

I didn't know anyone was reading my blog until I missed a few days (6 to be exact) and had 4 people ask me why I didn't have any new posts. They like me, they really like me!! Or, they're bored, they're really bored! ;-) I love you guys... you keep reading, i'll keep posting.