Get Your Free Flags???

Ok so nearly a month ago I had a post about getting your flags ready for the September 11th Anniversary and I had a link where you could send a self addressed stamped envelope for free flag stickers..

I got my flags!!!! You have a limit of two SASE per address for 10 free stickers per envelope.  I love it and I can put one on my hardhat and even my car and will just pass out the rest and hopefully make someones day!

I am PROUD to be an American and love that you can still really get stuff for free!!!  We have to remember to be patriotic ALL YEAR not just on specific days we live in the greatest country on the planet!

See the link below for the original post with information on how to get your free flag stickers!

Stay Safe everyone! Have a great week (whats left of it)

MIA

I know lately I have been a little lax in my post and MIA on some days and I just want to REALLY apologize to you all!!!

Life sometimes just gets away from us all and this past two weeks that is what has happened! Work has been crazy and my sister and I have been working like crazy craft lady slaves preparing for a LARGE craft show this Saturday on the 1st of October.

How do you keep your life organized?  I have a personal Android phone and my work phone is a Blackberry so between those two I don't normally use the calendar functions but to keep up with our hectic schedules and life's around here I found an awesome online resource: Free Online Calendar and Mobile Application for Busy Families - Cozi is an awesome resource, we use it for everything and we (all in my family) also have it downloaded  to our phones.  It has been a lifesaver so many times and especially the past two weeks for my family we couldn't have lived without it!

Shameless plugs...

My Etsy Shop with some of my great jewelry pieces, cozy fleece blankets and picture frames!

Aims Favorite Things

My sisters shop with awesome hair bows and tutus!

Yellow Mermaid Bowtique

My incredibly talented daughters shop with hair flowers and feathers!

Meghannmade

We will be at the annual Yukon, OK Czech Festival this Saturday October 1st in the craft area, if you are in town come on out and see us!

I promise hang with me my regular post will be back in the coming days!

Hang in there the week is almost 1/2 over and as always keep yourself safe!

Sunday Savings

Ok, ladies (and gentlemen) I only have a quick second today and I just got this from restaurants.com and REALLY wanted to share it with you all in a quick Sunday Savings Post!!!

A few weeks ago I wrote about a wonderful dinner I had at Boleros in Oklahoma City in my "Whats For Dinner" post.  I saved a TON of $$ by purchasing my gift certificate for this wonderful girls night out via Restaurants.com. 
They are having quite a sale right now Most $25 Restaurant Gift Certificates for $2.00! This is the real deal and I promise it works! I am a HUGE fan now and who doesn't like to go out every once in awhile and save money to boot? 
Have a wonderful Sunday and Stay Safe, stay out of your kitchens and use a restaurants.com gift certificate to treat your family!  

    

Rock On...

Ok I promise I am still here it has just been one of those weeks around here.... I feel like all week was hurry up and wait ... hurry up and wait!!!!

I am working on an oilfield fire post for Monday I promise, oilfield fires are a unique and really very interesting topic..

Ok anyway besides that this week I went with my 17 year old daughter to our 5th concert together (been to several more long before she was in the picture back in my younger days but together we have been to 5.  This week was Matt Nathason, Train & (the headliner) Maroon 5.  To be honest I really, really love Maroon 5 and especially their lead singer, Adam.  They are just not a large venue performers I was so disappointed with Maroon 5 but let me tell you Train was really, really, really good and so was Matt Nathason.

So as I was sitting in a group of 16, 17 & 18 year olds (my daughters friends) I started thinking  about all the concerts I have been too and trying to remember what was my first???

Well here is a partial list but what I want to know is what was your first concert, your favorite concert, the best concert and your least favorite!!! I really love all types of music so I am sure you will see that below :-) Come on everyone play along!

1st Ever Concert was Poison - FRONT ROW tickets way back in the day I really think I was in 7th grade and my mom and her then boyfriend took me! So probably 1987..

Best Ever Concert was hands down was U2/Black Eyed Peas and that was just in 2009
Close tie on this one was Janes Addiction in a small venue here in OKC in 1990.

Least favorite was the Maroon 5 from this past week and I am so sad about that I had such high hopes!  I think they would rock a smaller venue though.

Ok and who else have I seen???

• Barry Manilow (not kidding, went with my mother)
• Poison
• Motley Crue
• Ozzy (Farewell to Tours Tour)
• Alice in Chains (3x's - one of my all time favorite groups)
• Reba McEntire (2x's) 
• Bon Jovi
• U2
• Black Eyed Peas
• Cute is What we Aim For
• Gym Class Heros
• Fallout Boy
• Janes Addiction (2x's)
• Lollapoolza (crazzy, wild ride... several artist including Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and a few more obviously this was Lollapoolza back in the day)  
• NIN
• John Mayer - very good show plus he is just gorgeous!
• Eli Young Band  

and honestly I know there are more but I cannot for the life of me remember them all so they must have not been all that good ;-)  I am sure I even have some old tattered up tees from some of the ones I can't remember ;-) if they come to me I will add them later... 

OMG how could I forget taking a bunch of screaming teenage girls to see.. Demi Lavoto and the Jonas Brothers a few years back! Not a highlight for me obviously but for the girls it was the time of their life ;-)   

Ok so let me know who have you seen?  Who would you see again and again (favorite) and of course the best show and who is your least favorite?  I really want to hear from you all ;-) 

Oil rig explosion rocks Watonga; fire could burn for days | NewsOK.com

Hey Folks sorry I know you missed me!

I am working on a post regarding well blowouts, loss of well control issues and well fire fighting techniques etc.  But it it going to take some time.

This all came about after a well blew out here in Oklahoma around 10pm on Monday September 19th.   You can read the related article and see the report in a clip below:

Oil rig explosion rocks Watonga; fire could burn for days | NewsOK.com

Everyone made it off the rig which was a Patterson Rig with Patterson Drilling out of Houston, Texas.  They were drilling for Continental Resources of Enid, OK. There were no reports of any injuries.

Some houses were evacuated 30 or so but keep in mind it is in a rural area of west central Oklahoma.  East of Watonga, OK on Highway 33. As of tonight most all those evacuated have been able to return to their homes.

Wild Well Control is on location and determining the best route to take to extinguish this fire and gain control of the well again.  It is not an easy task, and not just any ordinary fire department is prepared for this kind of incident. Even though I heard the local news reporter say, "It is supposed to rain tomorrow, that should help the situation. " that is the furthest thing from the truth, water is no good on this type of fire.

Anyway I will keep  everyone updated on anything I hear and as promised I will be following up with a article in the next few days regarding loss of well control hopefully to answer some more questions to those of you who don't know what sequence of events actually take place to get to where you have total loss of well control.

Good Night all and Keep all workin' in the patch in your thoughts and prayers and that they all continue to stay SAFE!   

It's boomin' here in Okie Land.....

So I was around during the 1st oil boom and yes then bust of the 80's here in Oklahoma.

The economy is stable here for us in Oklahoma and there are jobs to be had in oil and gas for those willing to work hard.

This was just on our local news last night:
Oil & Gas companies to add nearly 250 jobs

Then low and behold I turn on the TV this morning and saw this Great State report.

Great State reports are done by a local photojournalist, Galen Culver and he does so many great stories on our wonderful, unique and sometimes fascinating Great State of Oklahoma.

 

This is good news for my fellow oilfield peeps and even for those who are in search of work, and it is even better news for those of us here in Oklahoma who work onshore oil patch jobs... Drill Baby Drill!

Enjoy your lazy hazy Sunday and keep safety on your mind in everything you do! 

Winner Winner .... you know the rest...

Ok so I love this saying thank you Miss Candice for embedding it in my brain!!!!

So this week all week long I have been holding a contest on my facebook for Pretty Pedi's and if you are an regular reader of my blog then you read the rules, post, prizes etc...

Well it ended last night at midnight and I just want to say REBECCA you rocked the votes!  She blew them away by a mile!

First off thanks to Rebecca for all the love sent to my facebook page!

BTW if you haven 't like me yet on Facebook what are you waiting for??? look over to the right of this blog and see the facebook box... well it is easy just hit "like" and keep up with posts, contest, news, giveaways etc... Also just a quick reminder there are things I will do sometimes on Facebook and then there are others I will do on my blog and I am thinking of even moving to Twitter also but haven't decided yet!  So be sure you follow the blog also and it is easy either register with my blog or see up on the right side at the top?  Follow by email?  Just type in your email and viola you will get email updates of blog posts also!

Ok so what did Rebecca's pretty pedi win??? Well she won a AWESOME mini OPI set!!!!

Rebecca B. contact me send me an email with your address or message me on facebook and I will get it in the mail to you next week!  Congrats girlie and thanks again for everyone who participated!!!!!

Stay in the loop because you won't want to miss out on some fun things that are planned and coming up!!!!

Wash, Dry, Fold Repeat....



Some companies utilize the services of a uniform company that launders their employees clothes however others opt out of that and leave it to their employees to launder their clothes and uniforms... Problem here is we take for granted it is the employee who we trained to launder their clothes and 9 times out of 10 it is NOT the employee laundering it, it is their spouse!

So how many of you ladies out there launder your husbands work clothes?  How many of you realize there are somethings that no matter what you do they embed themselves into the fibers of the clothes and are never removed therefore you are contaminating your own washer and dryer with it?

Do you know you cannot launder FRC (Flame Retardant/Resistant Clothing) like regular clothing?

I know sounds like a lot and it is but here is some basic info that you really need to know....

Since OSHA cracked down hard on onshore oil & gas last year and required FRC on basically any location I have been wearing the stylish garments for well over a year day in and day out.

FRC for the most part can be laundered in your normal machines at home however you CANNOT use fabric softener on it at all it completely renders the garment useless as it is not longer flame retardant/resistant once it has has been laundered with fabric softener and it must be thrown away and or destroyed so as to not be worn again as a PPE (personal protective equipment) again especially on accident!

Any holes, tears or rips in FRC the garment MUST be thrown out as it cannot be repaired in most cases and if it is, it must be done by a FRC tailor with FRC material including thread. Most places refuse to repair these garments and will tell you to disregard them immediately.

Soiled FRC with any petroleum based product must be tossed, file 13, see ya later.... they cannot be laundered, even if you think oh I got that stain out that petrol based product has binded to the garment fibers and now it is no longer flame resistant/retardant. (Yes this would also include oil based mud)

Please note the chemicals in most petrol based products can also spontaneous combust and you really shouldn't be washing those in your machines at home, at least I know I wouldn't... I love my house and family too much to risk a fire..

Now a big one that most people NEVER consider... Pipe Dope, threading compound, most all of these contain LEAD and washing it in your machines at home can cross contaminate your family.  Just last year here in Oklahoma 4 children were diagnosed with lead poisoning due to the clothes that one of their parents wore to work in the oilfield and came home and laundered it in their machines.

Pipe dope is commonly used in pipe connections and fittings and I know I see it on a daily basis and I also see the guys wipe it off their gloves onto their jeans or coveralls.  Even though I preach to them to let their wives know about this stuff.  I know probably not even 1/2 of them go home and tell them. 

The lead cases here in Oklahoma involved children ages 6 months - 22 months and it was cross contamination from their parents clothes in the laundry that they traced the lead back to on the pipe dope.

The health department officials here recommend oil field workers do not enter their homes unitl they have taken showers and changed into clean clothes and shoes.  A worker dressed in work dlothes should NOT pick up a child, and work clothes should be kept seperate from family clothing.

We both myself and my husband NEVER wear or steel toes in the house they are left on the porch or in the garage or the mud room area.  I just don't want all that in my house to begin with and in my truck they are sitting on a rubber mat.  You have no idea the nasty stuff you step in and through wearing those things!   

I can't tell you how many times I have had to re-order full FRC wardrobes for employees who say my wife put a dryer sheet in with my FRC or she used Tide with Downy.  I forgot to tell her not to.

Please, Please, Please ladies take this seriously as these are the hidden hazards that your husbands can bring home and you really have no way of knowing!

This is just basic information really but I wanted you all to be aware because this is not always something the wives have privy too.    

  

Date Night!

Tonight hubby and I went on our first date in a VERY long time!!! With our daughter we are ALWAYS with her or at something to do with soccer...

But....... not tonight we went to the Great State Fair of Oklahoma, something we haven 't done together alone without our daughter in years or maybe actually ever!

So first we headed for the food!

I love, love, love the Wisconsin Fried Cheese and save up all year for it...  oh and extra ranch please!

Cheddar nuggets with ranch... yummo!

I topped it off with dessert of course....

Strawberry Crepe = double yummo!

Hubby got his favorite old standby...

Footlong Corn Dog...... 

We even got to pick up free concert, The Eli Young Band was playing and that was a great surprise for the $2.00 entry fee to get in tonight you just can't beat that for a great night out!

Eli Young Band, trying to stay out of the crazy crowd! 

So we went into the car building and saw all the new cars which hubby enjoys doing so much and left there and saw this interesting little tidbit...

We didn't try it but really who would?  Sorry sounds gross to me!  My hubby jokes and says, "back when we were Paramedics we would have considered this JOB SECURITY"  ;-)

We headed to the midway and my softie of a husband still has it and won me a prize!  He is quite the winner on the ring the bottle game and he still has it even after all these years!

Ring the bottle, the winner ring! 

All in all it was a great night, we had a wonderful time and even after all these years we still can enjoy each others company even with the carnies shouting out at us all night... ;-)

Riding in the back of the Tundra home!    

Have a wonderful rest of the night what is left of it and stay safe peeps! 

Wisdom Teeth.... now how in the world did they get that name?

So this morning I woke up to the most horrendous pain in my mouth!  Something of the likes of childbirth pain seriously (and I had natural child birth at that).

I stumbled into the bathroom and tried to find a tiny flashlight and low and behold my entire right lower jaw was swollen up and just to look at it hurt!

I had my daughter who was also 1/2 asleep come to make sure I wasn't dreaming and what I was seeing and she (remember she is 17 and sometimes thinks she is a comedian) tells me it looks like WWII in there.... bloody hell. hahahahahahaha OK granted it was a little funny but it hurt too bad to laugh.

I had my left 2 wisdom teeth out nearly 11 years ago but the right ones have stayed impacted (never broke through the skin and never caused any problems until today)

I called the dentist and he is so awesome... Dr. Chris Recknagel in Yukon, Oklahoma ROCKS! Anyway he got me right in and confirmed it was my wisdom tooth and then we sat down together so he could show me the x-rays they took about 4 months ago when I was there for my cleaning....

This particular wisdom tooth sits right along a nerve canal and to remove it would be risky because it could cause permanent nerve damage if they were to accidentally involve the nerve and it would be likely the way the tooth is sitting (it is sideways and backwards, I know I am a weirdo).  So for now I have antibiotics, and ibuprofen for the swelling and hopefully the swelling will go down enough so I can go back in for another x-ray in a few days.  I am already so sick of SOUP and it has only been one day!

However I got to thinking where in the heck does the "wisdom" fit in on these dumba** teeth?????

This is what I found.....

Wisdom teeth, also known as third molars, are the last teeth to erupt in your mouth. This generally occurs between the ages of 17 and 25, a time of life that has been called the "Age of Wisdom."


So whoever thought that up must be a total idiot! Seriously????

Ok so anyway ladies I am hopped up on meds and I am going to try to rest through the night and venture back into the oilfield tomorrow (dentist gave me a pain med shot today so I pretty much slept my life away on my couch)...

Take care everyone and stay safe!  

Crazy lady here!!!!

Gals and Guys I promise I didn't forget about you I promise I know I missed yesterday and I promise I will make it up!  Oilfield info/safety post will be on Friday this week since I missed you all yesterday!!!

This week has been a little hectic and it is only Tuesday!!!!!!

My wonderful husband is on his way home from 1/2 way around the world I talked to him from Kuwait this morning and then Dubai, isn't technology just grand????

He is on his plane now and will land in Atlanta around 6ish and then in OKC at around 10am!!! WooHoo!

Over the past weekend I was in Houston for my daughter's Premier League West soccer games (which she won both!) and I was so excited to eat at my very favorite restaurant.... Pappadeaux!!!! I am addicted to their Shrimp Etouffee, I cannot get enough of that stuff!!!!  Plus their Banana Pudding in the mason jar.... TO DIE FOR!

Picture doesn't make it look all that great but I promise it is delicious!

We figured why not just make it a triple threat and we ate at Pappasitos on Saturday and Sunday before we left we tried Pappas BBQ... I love those Pappas restaurants!  Pappas Burgers is equally awesome and the best steak of my life (and I am NOT a steak person) was at Pappa Bros Steakhouse.   

So my question to you all today is what is your favorite restaurant?  Your favorite dish to splurge in?  (heavens knows that dish above is NOT diet)   Share please even if they are large chains or holes in the walls, we all want to know and we may all even discover a new place to check out when out and about! 

Have a great Tuesday night!  Stay safe and happy peeps!!! 

New Yorker by choice!

Today I want to remember everyone who lost their lives, those who lost loved ones and those who continue to fight for freedom from terrorism. 

I am a Okie by birth but moved to New York at a young age as a military brat and to this day I consider myself a New Yorker by choice! I love New York and travel back there every year.  I have been to lower Manhattan and it is chilling no matter how much time has passed.  

I also want to remember all the rescuers that day police, fire and EMS.  I am not only a military daughter, my Father was in the Air Force but he was also a career Firefighter both military and civilian.  My husband and I met while in college the 1st time in Paramedic school and my husband also spent time as a reserve Police Officer.  So needless to say this day has so many deep rooted heartfelt meanings to me.  

Below are pictures I took last year when we were in NYC for Thanksgiving just outside Engine 54, Ladder 4, Battalion 9 in Midtown Manhattan.  

The garage doors were open and this was posted outside but there were Firefighters in there and they were so kind and welcoming they didn't mind us taking pictures at all in fact they let me step in a bit to take the next one!

Yes this is the real deal looks almost fake but I promise it is my original photography!

This station is really in the midst of the Theater District and within walking distance to Times Square!

Their tribute to 911 and all of the rescuers that day.

So even if just for a moment today please take a moment and remember because I know we will never forget!      

Everyone have a wonderful Sunday and as always Safety & Security are on my mind but definitely today as I am flying (yes on a plane and yes on 9/11) home from a weekend soccer trip! 

I am addicted to Q!

Hello, my name is Spoilfield Wife and I am addicted to Q!

(Q is short for QVC for those of you who don't know!)

This past Thursday I was so excited to come home and find a big ole package on my porch from who else but QVC?????

My daughter helped me unpack it and get it in the house and this is my most recent delivery from the big brown truck and QVC...

Home Reflections Vine Scroll 27-1/4" Cabinet w/ 3 Drawers

Item: H167818      $187.80

Now this was on clearance at QVC and I got it for 4 easy pay's! WooHoo!!! Easy Pay is when they let you break the payments out over a period of time! (4 easy pays = payments over 4 months)  This awesome little chest is perfect to replace my entry table which my dear husband ruined by putting something on it that took the finish off the top and I have had to hide the spot with a picture frame! Who knew QVC literally carries EVERYTHING?

I have been a long time fan of QVC and have purchased everything from my laptop I am using right now, in fact this is the second laptop I have purchased from them, to my Margaritaville Margarita Maker (the BEST purchase EVER).  I am always on the hunt for a great deal and sometimes they are higher but a lot of times they are not and the easy pay lets you pay it out, which we sometimes do take advantage of and put it on our debit card (not a credit card) that way when we are done paying it we OWN it! Plus it is INTEREST FREE  Gotta love that!

I love me some QVC for all kinds of things, do any of you Q?  If so what are some of your favs? Purchases? Products? Host/Hostess? I would love to hear about them so don't be shy comment away!!!!

Also just for my mother and sister don't worry I didn't forget about you and your favorite, Quaker Factory... more on that later I promise there is a HILARIOUS story that I will share with you all regarding this in the very near future!

In the meantime don't forget to let me know how or if you Q!

Enjoy your Saturday and please remember everyone Safe Qing!

   

I'm So Excited (& I just can't hide it)

I know I said I was going to take Friday's off and that would be my non-posting day but I have something so exciting I can't wait to tell you all!!!!!!!!

In honor of my absolutely fantastic spa day and my gorgeous pedi I got, I am having a Pretty Pedi contest on my facebook page!!!!

Ok so if you haven't "liked" my facebook page yet look over to the right....... do you see it? The facebook "Like" box?  Well LIKE me already!!!!

Ok contest rules, regs.. etc.....

• Post a picture of your gorgeous pedi's in creative and fun ways (already have an awesome one taken while fishing! How fun is that????)  on my facebook wall be sure you put your name in the description or tag yourself in it. 
• Share your pic on your page or wherever you can (Please not on the official OWA facebook page as it is against the guidelines - however there is a new page associated with OWA that you can share the link!) and get votes by having people "like" your pretty pedi pic! 
• The picture with the most "likes" wins!!!!! 
• Contest runs until midnight CST on Friday September 16th.  Winner will be announced on here and facebook on Saturday September 17th! 

So what do I win for showing off my feet online you ask??? Well who out there loves OPI polish?  I know I do that is the BEST stuff ever!  Well the winner will get a cute OPI polish mini set! In fact the exact one pictured below!



OPI Nice Stems! Mums mini set includes 4 awesome polishes!





Starting left to right -  Play the Peonies - Come to Poppy - Be a Dahl-ia Won't You? - I Lily Love You

Play the Peonies is a soft, shimmery pale pink with iridescent shimmer

Come to Poppy is a vibrant coral pink

Be a Dahl-ia Won't You? is a bold, shimmery fuchsia with lots of gold sparkle

I Lily Love You is a sheer, jelly pink with large rainbow glitter and flake particles

This is a fantastic little set I have several OPI mini's and I just LOVE them! So I thought the winner of the Pretty Pedi contest would also!  

So ladies and or gentlemen if you are so inclined.. get to paintin', posin', snappin', postin' and votin'

Good Luck to everyone and stay safe this weekend!   

As LUCK would have it....

So as a child growing up I loved elephants.  Weird I know but I even collected them and as I grew up and moved the elephants were lost, broken and or misplaced.  However recently I found so many neat things with elephants on them my passion was rekindled!

Today I found a most incredible elephant statue!  So I snatched it up and as I put it in my cart at ROSS of all places another lady looked and me and said, "well if you were not going to buy I was, that is just adorable".  So I got my new quite awesome elephant display home and now I am not sure where to put it.  These pictures just don't even do it justice I promise it really is cute, quirky, and fits my living room decor to a T!

There are five elephants stacked one on top of the other to stand about 18" tall.  The top one is white, then a blue one, and green, yellow and red.  These are all muted colors kinda folk artsy.  Two are trunks up and three are trunks down.

Now if you read all the meanings of elephants there are so many things that are said; colors, positions and placement can mean in your house and I am trying to find just the perfect spot for these guys.

The elephants are one of the oldest and most revered animal symbols it is said to symbolize great knowledge, wisdom, strength and power as they grow to a very old age.

According to Feng Shui elephants should be placed high upon a mantel, shelf or an altar for recognition and should have their trunks facing upward, as if trumpeting the good news.  They can be placed in the entrance hall, but NOT directly facing the door.  The placement of a frog on a elephant, or a monkey on a elephant, in the North is often thought to bring career stability.  This is just one of many beliefs you will find if you start researching the symbols and meanings of elephants.

Some say trunks up some say trunks down some say to face the door some say not to face the door but whatsoever you choose if you do indeed love these beautiful creatures as I do, big or small elephant likenesses are said to bring good luck to all who possess them! Since I have 5 with trunks up and trunks down and tusks up and tusks down and white to red, facing every direction I think I am covered in about every way imaginable on the superstition spectrum.... which is great because I am not turning down any extra luck, knowledge, wisdom, strength, good news, and protection they may offer!

Have a LUCKY Thursday all and as always stay safe!        

Spaaaaaah Day!

I have sat and pondered so many things to post today and decided to brag on my husband, after all he deserves a little credit sometimes ;-) - just kidding babe love ya!

Last September was our 10 year Wedding Anniversary and he was of course at work 1/2 around the globe on his rig in the Persian Gulf.  Being the resourceful, loving husband he is he still managed to make it a great anniversary with flowers delivered and a Spa Day gift certificate!

Well I am a busy, busy mom, wife, aunt to 10 nieces and nephews,  safety engineer, soccer volunteer, runner, scrapbooker, etc.. you get my drift and trying to fit in a full day to myself was next to impossible! Until recently I realized the gift certificate was going to expire and I needed to use it!

My appointment was Saturday, I was a little apprehensive, I had been to this spa before for some laser hair removal (got a Groupon and it was awesome ;-) ) anyway back to Saturday...

I arrived and was taken to a room given instructions to disrobe and put on their robe and lock my personal belongings up in the cabinet I was given the key too.  Hmmm disrobe??? I wasn't too sure about this thinking hopefully there wasn't a male masseuse, not that I am a prude but I am also not sure how comfortable I would be in that situation.  Ok so disrobe everything or leave my undergarments?  I opted for the latter still feeling nervous about waltzing around in a robe in a salon with a bunch of strangers.

I was taken to my first treatment which was by far my favorite and it was a facial, my face has taken quite a beating from the sun and genetics at only 37 I have some major sun damage and it makes me look quite older than I actually am without make-up.  The facial was so relaxing and my skin has honestly NEVER looked better I am still in awe today when I am looking in the mirror! I am sold and will be returning on a regular basis for facials and this is not something I have ever been a fan of or even done until now and I cannot tell you what an improvement it can make on your skin and your self esteem!

My second treatment was pedicure and manicure which was average for me nothing special as I have regular pedicures.  I have a pet peeve to see women in flip flops or sandals with nasty feet so that is one thing I do splurge on for myself about every two weeks.  I do love the color right now though it is OPI's Miss Universe colors and they are awesome!  Especially for low maintenance peeps like me who still like a little pampering and some glitzy every now and then so under those steel toes I am sporting a cute little pedi :-)  The base color is "It's my year" and the tips are "Crown me already"  love them both! Warning... feet and toe pictures!!!!! (Oh I know stylish flip flop tan lines too - see told ya I was a soccer mom!)

Lastly I had a hour long massage, now I have had several massages before and to be honest I wasn't overly impressed it was "OK" in my book but nothing to jump up and down about and maybe it was me too I may have been a little apprehensive because just last year I found out I had some bulging disc so I was so nervous it was going to cause me pain.. It wasn't painful but it wasn't really relaxing either.  I think next time I am gong to pass on the massage at least by that therapist.

When it was all said and done it was a great day for just me, I even locked my cell phone up in the cabinet while I was there so honestly that was probably the most freeing thing I have done in a long time, locked up my personal cell and I know shocker but my work cell also!

All I can say ladies if you can get a good deal on a Groupon or if your awesome hubby gets it as a gift enjoy your day and if anything at all and if you want to really splurge on yourself get a facial!!! Your skin is the largest organ in your body and the most neglected you won't regret it!  

So bragging on my husband again but thanks babe it was a wonderful day all in all and you are so sweet to do that for me!

Everyone have a great hump day and stay safe!        

Sweet or Sour?

I hope everyone had a wonderful, restful and safe holiday weekend!

As promised I will post oilfield topics on Mondays however since Monday was a holiday I am posting the first in the series today, Tuesday this week.

I hear and see a lot of misconceptions regarding H2S, aka - stink damp, aka - swamp gas, aka - sour gas, aka -  rotten eggs gas.  it is known by a lot of nicknames however Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) is the actual name and composition.  It gathers some of it's nicknames due to it's distinct odor it has at small concentrations.  It is most commonly referred to as Sour Gas around here in Oklahoma.

If you have heard the term sweet well or sour well that it what it is referring to a sweet well is a "non" H2S well, although it more than likely does have some very minor H2S concentrations not enough to be considered "Sour" a sour well is a KNOWN H2S producing well or a known H2S source hence the name "sour" to also coincide with the sour odor of the gas.      

While working on my Master's in Safety Engineering I have done some extensive research and had portions of a paper joint published with my professor, but instead of boring you with a ton of text and writings I really like these videos for basic awareness they have short clips and give a great overview of  basic H2S awareness.

I hope this helps to answer some questions I know some of you have had as well as provide you much needed information on a topic that is a biggie in any oilfield setting.  

Is H2S a scary thing...??? Well yes it can be if it isn't taken seriously and respected.  The picture of myself on here is one of me on location and you see the black thing on my hard hat?  

That is my PAM (Personal Alarm Monitor) it is a gas monitor that is to be worn within your breathing zone preferably 18" of since the main source of toxicity comes from inhalation with most any poisonous substance.  Why is that??? Because we all have to breathe to survive and we don't have much control over that. Anyway back to my PAM, it needs to be worn on your outer most layer of clothing and like I said within your breathing zone and NO your breathing zone isn't the back of your hard hat even though I have seen several worn there!  Now this is just a Personal monitor and not made to be utilized to take readings over large areas that is what multi-gas and fixed monitors are for (both shown in the video).  Those PAM's are normally set to go off at 10ppm and by go off I mean by a loud, loud audible tone along with vibration and flashing lights, when they reach 15-20ppm it goes even crazier basically yelling at you to get the heck out of dodge! And so that is what you do you don't question it, you don't take a moment to look at the reading, you just hightail it out of the area.  Because in that moment it takes you to question it or read the monitor might could just be the last moment you have alive.  H2S concentrations can rise in just the blink of an eye.  

Yes you can safely work around H2S as long as you have the correct Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) available.  What is that you ask? You need to be in a air supplied respirator a such as a Self Contained Breathing Apparatus.  Although not always ideal when performing heavy manual labor due to the limited amount of O2 available.  

More commonly you will see Cascade Systems which consist of compressed air bottles interconnected to provide breathing air to the workers.  The system is set up with a regulator to reduce the air pressure going to the work area. From a cascade system low pressure hoses(s) connect manifold(s) into which each worker can connect the hose line for his work-escape unit (breathing equipment).  

There are also emergency escape packs if either of the above fail and those are small packs made just for what they say emergency escape and normally will provide around 10 min. of air so you can get out of your main air supply fails.  

As highly toxic and lethal as it is you would think we in the oilfield would see more incidents with it huh?  Well not really people both old oilfield and young oilfield have a respect for H2S and take the threat more seriously than most anything else they work with each and every day.  It scares people because of the unknown and it can just really sneak up on you and I think the fear of it all is what causes the massive amount of respect for it.  Plus the fact there are minimal survivors of overexposure to H2S to tell their stories and it is not been glamorized like so many other things in the oilfield (thank heavens).  I only wish energy isolation (lock out tag out), confined space, working from heights and a few others I will touch on in the coming weeks and months could be looked as the same way we do as H2S and really take it as seriously. 

'til tomorrow everyone have a wonderful & SAFE Tuesday Evening!  

What's for dinner?

If only I had the desire to open a restaurant called "I don't know" or "I don't care" or better yet... "You Pick" I just know I would be a millionaire!

When we decide to go out to eat in this household it becomes more of a chore than a good time like it should be.  We can never decide on a place nor can we agree.  "I had pizza for lunch", "Well I had Mexican yesterday" seems to always be common things we hear.

Last night I had a WONDERFUL girls night out with a good friend.  I had purchased gift certificates at Restaurants.com  for  a deep discount of 50% off or more  to several places we had never tried here locally and I thought this would be a fun experiment with my friends and family!

So last night Angela and I went to eat in downtown Oklahoma City at Bolero Tapas Bar & Grill  a place I had purchased a $25 gift certificate for only $10 on Restaurants.com.  It was FANTASTIC!  We had several Tapas - small dishes traditionally served with wine.  They are meant to be shared and offer a great conversation piece between you and your dining partners as well as others in the restaurant.  Which we found the latter to be so very true we had people at several tables around us asking "ooh what is that?" and we did the same as the food was brought out.

We had:
Mojitos to drink.. yummy but seriously our entrees included:

Honey Paprika Pork Tenderloin

Rock Shrimp 

and Sizzling Scallops and Empanadas stuffed with Pollo Rojo.  Desserts were Raspberry Gelato for myself and Flourless chocolate cake for Angela. 

The entire meal was so much more than we expected!  I will definitely go back in a heartbeat! I loved the Tapas idea and not only was the food spectacular the service was topnotch! 

So you are sitting here reading this thinking why in the heck did Spoilfield Wife tell me about her yummy dinner last night?  Well a couple of reasons....

First I made reservations with Open Table and we were seated immediately.  This is a FREE online service I have been using for years and so many people don't even realize it is there, plus there are more restaurants on there than you would probably think and they have MOBILE APPS!!!! WooHoo!!!!! Check it out and no I am not be paid to mention them or anything on this post just sharing some good food, and great websites and apps plus discounts with you :-) 

Secondly and most importantly the big question "What's for Dinner"  through today only you can save 50% on  your Restaurants.com purchase and you can search for restaurants close to you.  Just use code FRESH when you check out!   My certificate last night was for $25 off any $50 or more purchase so needless to say Angela and I had a much need girls night out at a wonderful restaurant with great food and saved some $$ at the same time!  Oh and BTW I purchased that $25 gift certificate for $10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hope you are having a wonderful restful and safe Labor Day Weekend! 

Winner WINNER Chicken Dinner!

As promised, I drew with the help of Random.org and the winner of the Peace, Love & Oil Necklace is ...

Amarie!!!!!!

Congrats!!! 

Amarie, please get with me with your contact info so I can get it out in the mail to you!  

The rest of you don't fret there are so many other great giveaways and specials in the works! 

As you may have guessed Friday's are going to be my off day unless I just have something so major and exciting it can't wait!  I will be posting most every other day though so be sure to follow me so you can keep up with everything! 

Everyone I hope is having a safe and wonderful weekend! 

Sometimes we all have to shovel $#@!

As I was settling into my new office I pulled out my shovel and proudly hung it up on the wall.  WTH the guys all asked is that?  (I am sure you are wondering also why in the world would I have a hot pink shovel hanging on my wall?)

Well... let me tell you I have known for awhile in life sometimes we all have to shovel $#@! but I didn't realize how literally that stood especially here in the oilfield until a few years ago!

At my previous employer we had a contract company out doing integrity testing (testing the external corrosion and internal corrosion of our tanks, vessels, piping etc on several locations as crude and produced water which is normally heavily contaminated and salt water to boot is highly corrosive especially at high pressures, this type of testing can ensure you don't suffer a catastrophic failure such as a rupture, breech, spill etc) there were two guys working with this company performing these test an older gentleman probably in his late 50's and a younger gentleman in his mid 20's - learning the ropes, lets call them... the "poop dudes" for easy identifying as this story can get a little drawn out.

So every morning when the "poop dudes" were out on location I had to go out and write a permit (I will go into permits more another day) for them to use their camera on our locations.  So I would go out bright and early every day and write the permit giving them clearance to perform their tasks.  Unbeknownst to me they so endearingly nicknamed me "Muffin" to some of my co-workers who would run into them during the course of the day. (I am pretty sure it was the older "poop dude" as he honestly couldn't get over seeing a female out doing work in the oilfield in a hard hat and boots and had said that to me several times) I am seriously OK with that I am a big girl and can handle it as I have worked in male dominated fields my entire life.

Ok so back to the shovel and the what it has to do with the "poop dudes".  I had asked them SEVERAL times if they would like a porta potty on location as they were in pop-up campers and extended cab pick-ups and they were sleeping and living in those during the basically two weeks of this project.  Both of them had replied to me SEVERAL times "no thank you" and I was thinking where in the heck are they using the restroom?  These locations are smack dab in the middle of Oklahoma City proper and some were even actually on airport, yes OKC's main airport, property so there is MASSIVE amounts of traffic.

Until about 4 days or so into the project one of my Field Operators came into the office and said, "Do we have a shovel I can give to those "poop dudes" ?"  I said, "what for?" and I seriously wished I would have NEVER asked! Come to find out they were using the restroom on our locations and piling it up and needed a way to bury it!!!! Ok now out in rural America this is really OK but in the middle of a metropolitan area? The air traffic controllers probably saw some things they wished they never had seen!

Lucky me being the HES (Health, Environment & Safety) Technician I was tasked to go out and explain to them why we can't do that and how we have a porta-potty we can bring out for them to utilize (remember I had offered it to them SEVERAL times and each time they had declined).  DREADING every last moment of having this discussion with the "poop dudes" my best friend in the world and Office Manager at my previous employer said,  "I will ride out there with you, I have to see what kind of people these "poop dudes" are!".

So after lunch we ventured out to the location they were at, the older one started walking towards my vehicle and I was busy putting on my PPE so he was standing at my driver's side window for a minute or so pointing down to the ground.  Candice (my Office Manager) looks up (she was also putting her PPE on) and say OMG,  OMG,  OMG  DO  NOT  ROLL  THE  WINDOW  DOWN  WE  ARE  PARKED  ON  THE  POOP! At that very moment I died laughing (mind you the older "poop dude" is still standing outside my widow at a bit of a distance but he just keeps pointing down.)  I was trying very hard to gain my composure to roll the window down and in the background all I kept hearing from Candice was "don't look down, don't look down".  The older "poop dude" says to me, "might want to move your vehicle you are parked in a mud puddle".

WHEW!  What a relief is all I can say, it was a mud puddle only! To this day I laugh hysterically when I try to retell the story or even when I was just blogging about it, it took me over an hour because I was laughing so hard!

I did have a discussion with them regarding their personal hygiene restroom habits and they did bury their previous "poops" with their own shovel...

When I left to head to my new job my entire field office gave me a hot pink shovel in remembrance of that very day including the inscription of "We Will Miss You Muffin". So that is why I have a shovel hanging proudly and hysterically on my wall here in my new office!  I love my Wheatland Crew and I won't ever forget you guys & gals ;-)

It is also serves as daily reminder

we all sometimes have to shovel the $#@! 

Have a MOST Terrific Thursday and Stay Safe!