Angineer

Thanksgiving Thirteen

I have so many things to be grateful for this year...

1. My baby

2. My husband

3. Health insurance

4. A supportive workplace that understands family is more important than work

5. A job that allows my family to live comfortably and weather unexpected storms

6. My husband's workplace - for supporting him through paternity leave & unexpected family illnesses

7. Family members that live nearby - we have leaned on them so many times this year

8. The people I don't even know who have prayed for my daughter's health this year (and some who continue to do so!)

9. Family members who have rearranged their work schedules to stay with my daughter while I work

10. Sorority sisters & friends who have supported me when I needed their support most

11. My sorority volunteer position - volunteering helps me feel like me, not just a new mom

12. The ability to work and not feel judged for leaving my daughter with other people during the day

13. Doctors who have worked hard on my family's behalf

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you are surrounded by loving family and/or friends today!

Mommie Dearest

Little girls strongly identify with their mothers. She is the woman
they model themselves after, trying on her dresses, shoes and jewelry
when they play dress up and parroting her when they play house with
their dolls. As they get older and imagine their lives as a grown up
woman, it is her life they picture themselves in. Then they look
around one day and realize they are a grown up woman, but the life
they are living is not hers.

When I celebrated my 21st birthday with family and friends, rather
than a husband, I had already started down my own path. Starting my
career, providing for myself, and living by myself are all things my
mother has never done. But, despite those differences, I still turn
to her for advice, encouragement and praise. As I fill my calendar
with volunteer opportunities for the Girl Scouts and my sorority, I
think back to watching my mom lead two Girl Scout troops and attend
sorority meetings with her best friend and I wonder if I am still
trying to find a way to lead my mom's life.

An old story

My office phone rings - it's my new boss. "Do you want to come to my office in about 5 minutes to go over that memo?"

"Sure," I reply.

"Great! I just need to visit the little engineer's room and then I'll see you back here."

Valentines banner = Pinterest win!

For Valentine's Day, I found an easy and fun decorating idea on Pinterest - of course! What I loved about this idea is that it used the holiday cards that I never know what to do with. Plus all it took was a pair of scissors, tape and string. I created a heart-shaped template, traced the hearts onto holiday cards from our friends and family, then cut the hearts out and taped them onto yarn.

There were a couple hearts that wanted to lean forward. For those I just taped a penny to the back of the heart, near the bottom, and then they hung straight.

Jokes by engineers

How did the chicken cross the road?
Under the road on a bok path!

Engineers with auto-correct

My office is participating in Relay for Life, to raise money for cancer research. Our team captain posted a sign-up sheet, including spaces for volunteers for the survivor and caregiver laps.

Except the column for the survivor lap asks for volunteers for the surveyor lap. Can you tell our team captain is a fellow engineer?