Satellite Pro!

RV Parks need to provide cable... Hooking up your own satellite is a pain in the rump! Plus who wants to pay $50 every time you move to have them come set it all up again. They should have a special rate for people who live in campers or at least provide a satellite finder to make it go quicker. After messing with 4 of the free apps I finally bought the $10 app from direct tv. Come Ohio I'll be a pro!

Family Time!

Home for the holidays... Or at least to Dallas to see family! It's not often Mat gets a Saturday and Sunday off but when he does, and if we were close enough, we always tried to see each other. Now that we are fortunate enough to travel together we try to take advantage of the two days off to see family, his and mine. We woke up this morning and made the 2 hour drive to Dallas to see my mom, aunts, uncle, and grandma for this Easter weekend. Tomorrow we will wake up and make the trip to Bonham/Honey Grove to see Mats family. It's times like this and since we are close enough I don't mind making the drive to visit family, even if its only for a day or a few hours. We don't always have this luxury but when we do... We spent it with Family!

New Location: Atoka, OK

Moved to Atoka... No Internet connection... grrrr! Blogging from my phone should be interesting! For now... its bed time!

On the Move again!

It's time to pack up and roll out! Next stop Atoka, OK for 2-3 weeks before heading to Lancaster, OH for 4 months. Tomorrow will be my first time ever packing up this camper to get it ready to be hooked up and pulled to the next camp ground. I sure hope I remember to get everything breakable in a safe place along with strapping down all the large items. I'm so excited to see our next destination even though I have heard there is not much to see. Look out Atoka... The Pipeline is coming through!!!

Not everyone is a Criminal!

Scenario: Someone is caught on tape stealing from the company you work for. Said employee is walked through the lobby with handcuffs on while the owner announces what the employee is being arrested for. Now said company decides to implement new policies of bag searches and body searches at the end of the work day. Question: Would you stand for this? Not just no but hell no! If I was working for this company and they tried to implement something to that extreme I would walk out. I will not be treated like a criminal because one person made bad decisions. I also feel that if someone wants to search me and my belongs they better have reasonable cause as to why they feel this way, especially if I have been a loyal employee for many years. This company needs to pay someone to sit and watch the camera footage as its rolling instead of the owner trying to go back and watch it at the end of the day. I was glad to see the women of this company take a stand together and not allow this.

Pipeline Family!

Family, defined by Bing dictionary, is "a group of people who are closely related by birth, marriage, or adoption". This would be my Sanders/Mathews, Parker, Kitchens, and Bond Family. It also describes family as "a group whose members are related in origin, characteristics, or occupation". Thanks to my Wednesday luncheons with the fellow Pipeline Wives I finally have a Pipeline Family, who can call on me and I can call on them in a time of need. Today, a fellow pipeline wife called me in a time of need and I was so thankful to be able to come and help. I was raised to live by the golden rule: treat others how you want to be treated. Plus, I believe in Karma! Now the key is to start exchanging  phone numbers with my Pipeline Family on top of adding them to my Facebook!

.357 Protects this House!

Criminal Minds is by far one of my favorite shows to watch. However, I have noticed the more I watch it the more I notice the flaws with the show, which happens to irritate me! For example, this man and his wife were part of a swingers group, she got pregnant, he was sterile, and he was killing off the couples who they were swinging with. Anyway, back to my point. One of the couples he went to kill was a martial arts guy. He handcuff man started kicking the killers ass and the wife, who is not handcuffed or taped, is just sitting in the floor by the chair crying. Seriously! Get your butt up and get the loose gun on the floor or the one in the night stand and help out. Needless to say she didn't do shit and they both were shot only after she tried seducing the gun man. Ugh! Its just disappointing that shows have to make women look useless. I don't know about you ladies but I'm not useless and some idiot wants to walk up in my camper uninvited... they will be greeted with a .357!

Twister Time!

Do you know what the first sign in the South is that tornado season is approaching? The movie Twister is CONSANTLY playing on TV. As I sit here with Mat and watch Twister it didn't take me long to realize we are in Oklahoma, its tornado season, we live in a camper, and tornados scare me! Seeing how my camper is the last place one wants to be when the tornado sirens are going off, I need to get with the RV Park owner and finalize where exactly we should take cover. If it were up to me, and we had enough times notice, I would load up the truck and get the hell out of dodge by heading South. Not like that is always the best idea since last tornado season Dallas had some pretty large twisters come through. Even though the thought of this frightens me to the core, what frightens me even more is Mat being out in the middle of no where working on the pipeline and them needing to take cover. Not many options there except a ditch, and not the ditch the pipe is going in! I think Mat and I need to get back to our plan... During the Spring/Summer work in the North and during the Fall/Winter work in the South!

RV Parks & Pipeliner's... Don't Mix!

Moving RV Parks is a nightmare in itself but when the RV Park owners realize a pipeline is coming through and jacks up the rate, makes you pay your own electric bill, and water bill really ticks me off! Seriously, your RV Park is going to be solid booked for at least 4-6 months and we have but no choice to put the money we earn back into your small town. So if you really feel like you need to make a little more money off us just increase your rates but don't make us have to trust you billing us the right amount for the electricity and water we use. If you don't have individual meters on the spots we have no way of making sure your not cheating us. It also gets under my skin these RV Parks who charge $400-$600 a month, everything included, but we are parking our 14,000-20,000lb campers on mud that has been lightly covered in rocks. Thankfully the RV Park we are at now is $420 a month, everything included, with concrete spots that are pull through. The next RV Park better be just as nice or nicer since we are paying $520, everything included. Downside... we might have to mow our own RV Spot!

Frosted Flake's...They're G-R-R-R-A-T-E!!!

Living on a budget makes you search for new things to make for dinner. As I was browsing through allrecipes.com I came across a Captain Crunch Baked Chicken. Now I didn't have any Captain Crunch but I did have some Frosted Flakes! So I went into Google, did a search, and found a recipe for Frosted Flake Baked Chicken. I can't believe I actually found one! Of course when Mat came home and asked what's for dinner, he was not impressed with my idea. I made it anyway and since he is my tester I made him take the first bite. He actually liked it! The sugar from the frosted flakes gave the chicken a sweet taste along with being a little on the crunchy side. Its definitely a dish I will make in the future because... They're  G-r-r-r-a-t-e!

http://www.mom-mom.com/frosted_flake_chicken.htm

Foot Phobia

Women always have a fear of turning out like there mothers... I don't have this worry since I have a pretty awesome mom. However, I notice one of my fur babies, Olive, has a similar phobia as me. Never really thought my fur babies could turn out like me or Mat since they are dogs but Olive hates feet as much as I do. I love pedicures but when it comes to other peoples feet getting anywhere close to me or even touching me totally freaks me out. When my mom first noticed this phobia we were on vacation and sleeping in the same bed and she accidentally, so she says, rubbed her foot on my leg. The minute I felt her cold foot touch my smooth leg, I shot out of bed like a bullet shoots out of a gun. She laughed so hard she cried while I was trying to get the confidence to get back in bed and trust her not to do it again. Needless to say I did get back in the bed but I slept on top of the sheet but under the comforter and made her stay under the sheet. Now a days when she needs a good laugh and we are sitting on a couch together she will slide her feet towards me while I'm not paying attention to see me come unglued. Anyway, Olive is the same way about feet. You can't touch her with your feet or sheet comes just as unglued as I do. Even if she is fast asleep she will jump up and run away growling at you. The only time you might be able to get away with touching her with your feet is if she is occupied watching someone with food and your sitting behind her and start petting her. It doesn't take her but a few seconds to realize its your foot and as the Robertson's would say..."She Gone"

Dual Citizenship... This Girl Does!

 

"What is your purpose of this trip? How long to do you plan to stay? Where are you staying? May I see your passport?" asks the Canadian customs agent. My response... "I have Dual Citizenship let me in my country!" Not really but I'm so excited to say I received my papers today stating I am a Canadian Citizen. Its a big accomplishment for me, even though I didn't have to do anything since I was born to a United Kingdom/Canadian citizen, but I did have to get all of this done in a months time and collect all the paper work needed to submit my application. Now that I have my papers, well my mom has them at her house, I wonder what's next? Do I get special passport that I can flash like a cop at the customs agent as I walk by to enter the country? Oh even better, do I get to go in a special line since I have dual citizenship? Does my husband get any special treatment? Aw so many questions needing to be answered... Guess I need to take a trip to Canada to find out! Google should work in the mean time!

Citizens Arrest!

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do may be used against you in a court of law" blah, blah, blah... Cops read off Miranda Rights to you when your arrested but when I make a citizens arrest... what am I supposed to say??? This thought crossed my mind when my step-sister and step-dad were giving me a hard time about having handcuffs hanging from my rearview mirror. 12 years ago my best friend Kurt placed the handcuffs in my truck one day while I was at soccer practice. I cant remember the reason why he gave them to me but they have gone from the Dodge, to the Celica, now in my new Tundra, and will transfer to all future cars I drive! Seriously though, what is one supposed to say when making a citizen arrest? "You are under citizen arrest. Feel free to laugh, joke, complain, but remain calm and try not to hurt yourself trying to get away. The police will be here shortly." LOL!

 

 

S/N: Kurt passed away 11 years ago... the handcuffs have sentimental value to them!

Men can't handle being sick!

Being ill... Ain't nobody got time for that! Especially if your my husband! Mat works 6 days a week at minimum 10 hour days with zero vacation or sick days. A Pipeliners vacation and sick days are when they are between a job. If one is sick, on death bed and has to see a doctor, the head welding forman on the job might let you take a day or two off. However, if you being sick falls on days where a bunch of people quit, don't show up for work, or in our case 75% of the workers are in Atoka while 15% of us are here in Prague, there is no one to fill in for you. Most Welders will not weld without a helper. So Mat has no choice but to suck it up and go to work. Thankfully he works for an awesome welder who could tell he was really sick and allowed him to stay in the truck most of the day and sleep. The other good thing is having a family doctor who knows us so well that he will call in some meds for us when the option of an after hours emergency clinic doesn't exist. Plus we all know how men get when they get sick... They are worse then a woman!

Celebrating the Life of Kurt Mautner!

St. Patrick's Day is usually celebrated by drinking green beer and pinching people for not wearing green. However, I choose to not celebrate St. Patrick's Day but I will celebrate the life of Kurt Mautner! March 17, 2002 forever changed my life as my best friend went on to be with our heavenly father. At the young age of 17 I had to learn the meaning of death and learn to live in a world without the person who made every day a new adventure no matter how many miles apart we were. There is not a day that goes by that I don't think of him and how he touched my life! I love and miss you dearly, Kurt! Rest in Peace my friend for one day we shall be together again!

Goofy California & Sexy Texan! <3 Him!

Driving vs. Me = Tundra is staying parked for a week!

Too Tired to Blog!

Drove from Seminole, OK. to Lewisville, TX.... 3 hours 30 minutes
Then drove from Lewisville, TX. to Bonham, TX.... 1 hour 20 minutes
Enjoyed the McBroom/Boggs Wedding for 2 hours
Then drove from Bonham, TX. to Seminole, OK.... 3 hours

Lesson Learned: Driving to Lancaster, OH. from Seminole, OK. wont effect me one bit!

Warning: Marriage to a Pipeliner!

Warning: If you marry a Pipeliner... You will attend many events dateless! Mat and I have been together 5 years, married for a little over 2, and I have attended many events alone... 3 of which are weddings! Tomorrow will be my 4th wedding to attended, dateless I may add, since Pipeliners don't have the option to leave work early or take off. Now I have another wedding I will be attending in September, which hopefully my hubby will be able to make, if not I'm requesting a clause be added to our marriage. It will state: If I, Billy Sanders, can not attend an important event my wife, Ashleye Sanders, needs to have a date for I give her permission to take a fellow friend Male (Straight or Gay) or Female as a plus one in my absence. I wonder how will this will go over???

One of our 1st Dates!

Osteology... Bad to the Bone!

Bad to the bone... These tissue eating bugs are... B-B-B-Bad to the Bone! Today I ventured to the one and only Museum of Osteology in the United States to not only view tons of bones but to see the flesh or tissue eating bugs who clean the bones. I was also given the opportunity to watch the process on how the bones go from an animal to the bones shown in the exhibit. It was by far the grossest and coolest thing I have ever seen. The exhibit itself was very interesting and informational with all the animals bones it had to offer. The founder and owner of the facility had a CT of his skull done and had a replica of his skull built and placed in the exhibit with the other skulls. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention I got to meet the owner an founder of the Osteology Museum! He informed us he hopes that one day his bones will be in an exhibit inside the museum. Interesting! The bugs he breeds will one day turn on him and eat the very tissue from his bones!

Pipeliners Identified!

Omg! Did you hear what the latest news on the pipeline is??? It's Gossip Wednesday!!! Wednesday is the one day of the week I really look forward to since its not only luncheon day with all the ladies but you get to catch up on all the gossip and happenings of the pipeline. Today was especially fun since it was my first day back to luncheon after being gone 2 weeks plus we had 6 new ladies join our little group. However, I feel a little rude for not introducing myself but have decided, along with another wife, we need to start introducing ourselves or play a name game. It was suggested we should do something like an AA meeting... We should called it Pipeliners Identified! I'll start... I'm Ashleye Sanders from The Woodlands, Texas, no kids, 2 dogs, hubby is Billy Sanders, Welders helper until Sept (hopefully), and my first time living on the road. Alright, who's next?

Back in OK!

Home Sweet Home!!! Never thought I'd be so excited to be back in OK in my camper but it sure does feel great to be home! The best part by far is getting to see my hubby after a long but enjoyable 2 weeks at my parents house. The worst part of being back is having to unload my fully loaded down truck into the camper and find new places for all the stuff. Long story short... the truck is halfway unloaded but we have satellite TV finally. Can you tell what was most important on Mats list???

Hey, Hey, Good Looking???

Who's that lady??? Who's that lady??? This song goes through my mind every time I get my hair cut and colored! Come on ladies... Who agrees with me? You get to the salon, or in my case my cousins house, get your color put on and converse for 30-45 minutes while your waiting for it to take. Then you get an amazing head message/wash with some wonderful scented shampoo and conditioner. Then comes the cut, style, and finally getting to see it in the mirror. From the moment I see myself I think "Hey, Hey, Good Looking?"

Flying Beer Cans!

Watch Out... Flying Trash! The worst thing about owning or being behind a pick up truck without a lid on the bed is the trash that comes flying out of it! It seems like the bed of a truck is the dumping site for beer cans, fast food bags, cigarette boxes, etc... True story, I was driving Mats truck to see my G'nny in Lewisville from Bonham when I just happened to look in my review mirror to see a crushed beer can fly out of the bed and hit the windshield of a State Trooper. Of course he pulls me over, and I already knew why, asked me to step out of the truck and explain all the beer cans in the bed of the truck. So I tell him its my, at that time, boyfriend truck and the bed of the truck is like a trash can to him and his friends. As I'm sitting here explaining this the officer is picking up every cup in the truck and sniffing each drink for alcohol. Then he noticed the bullets sitting in one of the cup holders and begins asking if a gun is present in the vehicle. Well duh... If there's bullets there's a gun! So I explain to him where the gun is and he decides since its not my truck nor my gun he decides to confiscate the bullets and let me leave with a warning. As I explain all this to my grandmother, G'nny, she grabs her broom and we go down to the dumpster and sweep what looks to be about 3 trash bags full of beers cans and fast food bags into the dumpster. It was a lesson well learned for Mat and I both. Now I own a truck and refuse to allow any trash in the bed of it. As I loaded my truck this morning I made sure everything in the bed of it was heavy enough not to fly out of it. When I got to Dallas and took a peek in the bed I noticed my lid to my plastic tub is missing. Crap! Some poor person had to avoid a lid flying at there windshield. I never considered the lid flying out. Looks like it's time to invest in a lid for the bed!

Camels, Horse, & Ostrich's... Oh My!

Last night in Houston with the family spent at the Sam Houston Race Track watching horse, ostrich, and camel races. Too tired to blog! Be back tomorrow...

Bathroom Etiquette!

What is proper bathroom etiquette? Talking on the cell phone is not proper!!! For me, and I assume most women, DO NOT want to hear people or the person your talking to taking a pee or poop. My husband, Mat, along with some other husband out there have this issue. It seems like the minute he gets home the first two things he thinks about doing is calling me while using the bathroom. Seriously! Its takes less then 2 minutes for a man to pee... call me after it! I've never understood why men feel the need to take there phone to the bathroom... what happened to just reading a magazine? Really, at some point the man has to get so engrossed in what ever is on the phone that they have to forget why they went into the bathroom in the first place or they are trying to avoid something like doing the dishes and taking out the trash. However, this morning I pulled a manly moment. I was playing angry birds when I realized I needed to use the restroom. Being just like Mat, I took my phone in the bathroom with me and got so focused on winning the 3 stars I had not realized both my feet, legs, butt, and lady parts had fallen asleep. When I went to get off the pot it was like walking for the first time and each step sent a tingle up my legs. Lesson learn... put the cell phone down before going to the restroom!

What's Inevitable???

Change is Inevitable! Some people can't handle change but when your a pipeliners wife you better learn how to embrace it! Let me give you some insight on my world. Mat will come home one day talking about how long a job will last and how many move around we will have to do. The very next day, it seems like even though it probably been a week, he says we may be moving by the end of the week. The end of the week arrives and just when your thinking okay better get the camper ready to go, he calls from work and says never mind where staying put for another month. Then I come to visit my parents and received a call from Mat and the first words out of his mouth is "we have a dilemma". Seriously, what could it freaking be now! So as calmly as can be I say "what now'? Here's how he approached it... "Well, Bucky (a welder) called wanting me to come straw for him 3 hours from Houston. He also says he will work with me daily on my welding so I can test on the job". Bucky knows exactly what to say to hook Mat.... welding and Houston! So where's the job... Tilden, TX... 4 hours and 16 minutes southwest of Houston. 3 hours my a**! Bucky should have just said north an hour from Mexico! Now, being the change adapting wife that I am, points out exactly how far it is from Houston but shows support by letting him know its whatever he thinks is best for our family and will get him the best opportunity to grow in his career towards becoming a welder. At this time I don't know where I will be come April first but I do know this.... I'll be with my hubby in one of the following places: Prague or Atoka, OK, Tilden or what I consider Little Mexico, TX, or Lancaster, OH. All this can change with just a phone call from another welder with a job offer. So can I handle change... Heck Yes... I embrace it!

Pink Camaro... YES PLEASE!

Pink Camaro + Me = Happy, Happy, Happy! Now to find a way to get the hubby on board with buying me one! I spent all day at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo dreaming about this car and how to convince my hubby it is more then a I want. Haven't come up with anything just yet but I'll sleep on it and find a reason!

Commando is a NO GO!

At what point in a women's life do we go from the little string of material that we call underwear to briefs, otherwise know as granny panties? Tonight at "Book" club, yes we do talk about the book for a whole whopping 10 minutes, I learned that women who are old enough to be my mom are still going around commando. Growing up my mom always said to have clean and appropriate underwear on just in case of an emergency so you wont be embarrassed. I'm 28 and have yet to be in this situation, well maybe once I had a small head injury and went to the hospital but I wasn't old enough to know the different styles of undies, but I couldn't imagine ever going commando. When I reached high school I switched to thongs, like all teenage girls do, especially if you play volleyball and are required to wear spandex shorts. Got to college and realized spandex wasn't required and moved on to bikini style panties. Now there are 5 different styles of underwear for women: thongs, bikini, boy shorts, hipsters, and briefs. As I see it you start out in briefs, move on to thongs in your teenage years, bikini and/or boy shorts in your early adult years, hipsters in your 40's, and briefs from there. The older you get the more coverage your butt gets! However, according to these ladies, yes there was not only one but two who prefer to go commando, decided somewhere along the way underwear becomes optional. Maybe its part of a mid-life crisis for women... men get motorcycles, new hair cut, grow facial hair and women get hysterectomies, face lifts, and lose the panties!





Mutton Bustin'

Its Rodeo Time in Houston, Texas!!!! I love the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo not only for the rodeo and concerts but for the Mutton Bustin'! Seriously, who doesn't love it when parents force there 3-6 year old boys and girls to ride on the back of a sheep for 8 seconds? Its the funniest thing the rodeo has to offer beside the clowns, which are not funny at all to me! Luckily I don't have a child but I do have a nephew who just happens to turn 3 tomorrow, which is a criteria for the Mutton Bustin' at the rodeo. However, I have no sheep but I do have a 35+ pound corgi named Bella, my moms dog, who could get him prepared for the competition. She has think fur, less of a fall for him, plus she would be so freaked out he is bound to get a good ride out of it. Now all I have to do is convince his mom and of course mine to let me try!
    Bella                                 +                     Collin                                    =          Mutton Bustin'     

   

Cleaning out the closet!

Teryn and I

Cathy and I

 

 

 

 



Memories Made... Last a Lifetime!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm 28 year old and my closet holds the memories of a teenager! Today my mom and I had the joy of completely cleaning out my closet where the only things allowed to be left in it was the clothes I'm taking back to OK with me. I think we gathered 6 large trash bags of clothes, 4 bags of trash, and the bedroom floor is covered in stuff to go to the camper or the storage unit. However, the best part of today was going through the photos of my teenage years. They range from pictures of friends at Thousand Oaks High School in California, soccer, travel, prom at Kingwood High, Texas friends, etc... As I was filtering through all the photos it was like I was reliving the image I was seeing. For example, I had tons of photos from my sweet 16th birthday bash in California. I can still remember the balloon fight in the living room and all the sweet 16 confetti flying about the room as each balloon popped. The piñata on the back porch where we each took turns holding it up high on the ladders while each of us took a swing at it. Then I came across all my action soccer photos taken by a fellow players parents. Not to toot my own horn but I was pretty awesome! As I filtered through the photos I found some I could have cared less to see, which they were lucky enough to make it to the trash. In the end photos are memories... they always seem to last a lifetime!

 

 









Small Business Owners

Small business usually have some of the best homemade things money can buy. Take this wreath I purchased 3 weeks ago from a small business owner at the OKC craft show. Now I understand that the lady was going to have to make it and it would take her at least two weeks with all the orders she was getting from the fair. What gets under my skin is when you call and find out it is ready, told it will be shipped out to you in the next few days, since the weather is to nasty to drive to pick it up, and a week passes by and the wreath has not shown up. At this point your pissed since its been 3 weeks and you decided to contact the company by text, email, and send a message on Facebook to find out where it and what is taking so long? Low and behold no one answers the phone, responds to the text or message on Facebook. Then a few hours pass and you vent about it on Facebook and finally get a call from the business owner and she claims the wreath was ready to be shipped but her husband placed it in his trunk of his car and forgot to ship it. At this point your like forget shipping it, put it at your store, and I have a friend come get it. Finally after 3 1/2 weeks my wreath is in the hands of someone I know will get it to me. If I owned a business I would definitely make sure I was a little more responsible then this so people would want to purchase from me in the future and refer my business. I can honestly say the wreath looks amazing but was not worth the 3 week wait and the excuses!

Duck Dynasty!

 

4 Wheeler Mat Rode

My 4 Wheeler

 

Let's Get Muddy!

Hunting and all that jazz that goes along with it is definitely NOT my cup of tea! I grew up in the city where getting muddy, shooting guns, killing wildlife, farming, etc... was not something I was taught. However, this was the way of life my husband, Mat, is accustomed to! So it was no surprise when the show Duck Dynasty aired on TV and became a favorite show of his and others of his background. Mat and I have been together going on 5 years and this prim and proper city girl has found her way to be a little country. I don't mind a little mud every once in a while, riding ATVs on back roads, or shooting guns at cans... I do draw the line at shooting animals, drinking beer, and manual labor! Its not often that Mat and I can agree on a show but I will admit I love watching Duck Dynasty. At first I was not a fan since I have seen some redneck shows where there is no purpose to anything they do and the things they did were stupid and pointless. The rednecks of Duck Dynasty are educated, family oriented, and believers of God. They stay true to themselves and even though I feel like Willie is the only one who let money change him, Jase, Si, and Phil find a way to get under his skin and bring him back to his redneck roots. If you want to watch a reality TV show without the drama like real housewives of where ever or celebrity rehab, give Duck Dynasty a try, Jack!















Best Line Ever From Phil to his grandsons "Y'all better go by Wal-Mart and pick up a personality ya reckon?"

 

http://www.duckcommander.com/