Friday, October 24, 2008

Happy Birthday Rob!

I hope you had a wonderful 40th Birthday Rob!
Trisha threw a surprise birthday party last weekend!
Rob had no idea about the Birthday plans! When his girls put on his hat and he begin to realize this was for his birthday, he looked at his watch to check the date (since it was a week early)!
We had to pull Rob away from an involved game of volley ball. It was hard to do as Rob didn't see the need for a break!
Rob enjoys games and is someone you would always want on your team!
He makes the games fun. It's intense!


Rarely, Rob will miss the Frisbee.

But more often than not, if you're looking for Rob, just look for the action!
What a catch! (Note- you know he's thinking hard, when he's got his tongue stuck out!)
This is a great picture - Rob's got it!

Rob and his family have made camping so much fun over the years! Thanks for camping and I hope you have another wonderful year!

Time Flies When You're . . . at Work!

This week feels like it has gone by very quickly. I haven't posted anything since starting my job, and I haven't even posted camping pictures yet! John took some really great pictures, especially of the ultimate Frisbee games. I hope to post them sometime this weekend.

So, one week in a new job has passed. I think I'll reflect a bit on what it has been like. I've been on the "other side" of hiring many times, but barely remember what it's like to not know anyone or anything about a job. Realizing that I'm the least knowledgeable person in our engineering group about this product is a bit humbling to say the least! It takes time to get familiar with a product. The parts, terminology, typical values and more are things that I am used to knowing and now get to learn about in a new field.

My position is design engineer and will soon involve drawing using AutoCAD and SolidWorks. So far, I have not drawn at all since my computer and software have not yet come in. Thankfully I have been able to use a friendly coworker's laptop for some basic office functions.

Thus far I've been slightly useful in back checking work that has already been done. Often it takes a second set of eyes to make certain that changes have been correctly made. Checking seems like it should be an easy job, but it's somewhat of a battle to say make oneself concentrate on checking every dimension on a print to make sure the millimeter dimension (including tolerances) is within the inch tolerances.

That project took about a day, but I was very glad to do it! I definitely enjoy feeling useful by doing achievable and visible work. I'm realizing how hard it is for new folks to know when to ask for more work or to know if they're doing things right. I guess I'm gaining more empathy for new employees now that I am one again! I have spent some time looking at the product and meeting a lot of people. Eventually I will get to know more of the names and faces. I'm not great with remembering either which makes this a bit difficult. But all that will come.

I guess starting a new job makes me very thankful for the time I had at my last one. Learning not just about a product or area of engineering, but learning about people's lives is also a part of a new job. I tend to focus to a huge degree on work which is good though I want to strive to be a friend to my coworkers too.

I am very thankful to be working again and feel that I will enjoy this position and company. I do enjoy challenges and think I will experience some interesting and challenging work here. I have also been enjoying my 45 minute drive. The only time it's annoying is due to having to try leave early (7 am) in order to be there by 8 am. I've been spoiled by getting used to sleeping until 7 or so for the last few months and now I get up at 6am. Of course that's really a minor thing. I'm enjoying getting back to routine - I've even finding time to read my Bible and other books for a few minutes each morning while getting ready for work.

I have definitely been enjoying listening to CDs on my new CD player. I've listened to almost all of Dave Ramsey's lectures this week! It's almost too much too fast even though I've enjoyed it. It's gotten ingrained into my head this week (not that it's ever too far away as I'm a "nerd" when it comes to money) . The other day, when John left me a message saying he decided to eat out with the guys for lunch and spend about $5.00, I immediately calculated that if he saved $25 a month for the next 30 years, we would have over $25,000 (based on 6% interest with a contribution of $9,000). Needless to say, John wasn't exactly thrilled with my calculation when I brought it up :) I guess there are better things to talk about over dinner! It's not that one should never spend money, but I guess my Dave Ramsey infusion is possibly a little too much too fast!

Well, check back more this weekend. I intend to post a bit more as time permits!

Monday, October 20, 2008

A Three Month Vacation is Over

Tomorrow morning I will start a new job! I'm excited about the position and eager to get to work again. My "vacation" since resigning from my previous engineering position in Alabama and starting this job has been full of change. Moving 700 miles, living with a family, enjoying my engagement with John, driving back to Alabama, getting married, enjoying our honeymoon in Washington, settling into a new apartment as a married woman, interviewing a couple paces, finding another apartment, flying down to Alabama, camping and flying back. (Now, that's a long sentence!) I guess all the action is part of the reason I still haven't accomplished too many other huge projects during all these months.

The months have sped past, and now I have another new beginning. It's been over six years since I started a job at a new company. This will be the 4th business I've worked at, but only the 2nd one since graduation. I start this job with the anticipation of learning a lot and the hope that I will be an asset to the company and an encouragement to the people that I will get to know.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Camping Today!

We are T-28 minutes until we leave for Alabama and camping! I can't wait to see everyone and am looking forward to enjoying an outdoor weekend with friends and family! If you're from Fountain of Grace church (or if you're local through some other group!), I would love to see you out there this weekend. No, you don't HAVE to camp (although you know the invitation is always open!). You can come out for the afternoon or day on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Just bring yourself and be ready to have some fun!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

It Takes An Engineer (No Two!) to . . . .

I've often been told something like, "You're an engineer, so [fill in the blank]." Somehow I always tend to cringe when I hear that beginning line. Often what follows deals with something that I feel like I ought to know or understand better than I do. Now, the things in this post don't really take an engineer, but they are "engineer type" things!

One area in which I've always been a little nervous about is trying to do any sort of car repair by myself. In the past, I was very fortunate to live near my dad who is a great mechanic. I've spent many evenings watching and "helping" my dad as he did something to my car. Now that I'm 700 miles away, we're faced with either trying things ourselves or paying repair shops.




Ever since I purchased my honda accord, I've had trouble with the CD player. It worked only for about the first month and was sporadic about playing CDs (at best). Since my new job involves some driving and starts on Tuesday, I was wishing to be able to listen to CDs and mp3s. Well, after pricing a cd player and finding cool instructions that didn't look too intimidating online, we decided to take the plunge! Well, we ended up using my Honda repair book, the online instructions, the new cd players instructions as well as the adapter kit instructions! Even with all those, it did take a little time, but it worked! I'm sure those who are used to repairing cars would say this is not a big repair, but we were quite happy to find out that after a few hours, everything went back together and plays CDs perfectly!

Another thing we've had some fun with is John's birthday airplane!


We've spent two days and probably three or more hours on it so far and just have the wings left! I've utilized my organizational skills sorting and finding parts as John was the chief builder. It is a big plane! I don't know if we'll finish it before we go camping - just two days from now!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Believe in Jesus Christ

I've been getting some visits from new people recently. My posts tend to focus on my daily activities instead of solely on the Savior and salvation so when I saw this blog post today, I thought it would be a perfect thing to post.

If you don't know Jesus Christ, seek Him. Ask me questions about Jesus. Read the Bible. Pray that God would reveal Himself to you. Knowing Christ is the very most important thing you can do during your life. Leaving this life without the knowledge of Christ is not something I want for anyone. Come to Christ while you have have a chance.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

New Job!

I have a new job! Thanks for your prayers for me to find a job! The job is in Hayesville and I plan to start on Tuesday, October 21st. We decided to wait until after the camping trip to start. I'm excited about the position. It seems like a similar environment to my previous position. I'll be able to use Solidworks and do design and different types of projects in a small-company atmosphere.

Now, I ask that you would pray that we find the right place to live. I've called several places today and this evening we're planning to look at four places (one apartment, a duplex, a house in town and another in the country). These places are all somewhere between the towns we work in. I'm hoping that we will find something this week so I can start packing! Having lived in four different houses in the last few months, I'm ready to move for the last time in a while.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Home Organization: Engineering Style

John and I received some awesome tools at a surprise wedding shower from Morrow Bible Church here in Ohio. It was great to get so many useful items that I may end up using as much as John! Since we're both engineers, I've probably had more experience with tools than the average girl.

Well, as both an engineer and someone who has organized stockrooms and areas at work with bins, my first thought at trying to organize these items was to use stocking bins! I found some online and with some wedding gift money I ordered 25 (more than I thought I would need). I intended to organize not only the tools, but also my bathroom items.
I thought I would stack bins in this closet with these bathroom items, but ended up placing most of the bins under the sink - freeing up an entire shelf!
I guess it's strange to post a picture under your sink, but now you know where to find extra tp if you need it:)

I put the tools in our pantry area in the kitchen. My before picture didn't wasn't zoomed out enough as I ended up using more shelf space than I thought!

I enjoy organizing. Now for the hard part - keeping it organized!

We had a good weekend looking for apartments and then visiting Doug and Lori in Sandusky where she was visiting her mom. That was a lot of fun - eventually we may post some pictures from that visit.

I've been busy finishing up a wedding photo album on shutterfly. I just hit the order button and it feels awesome to have that done. I'm hoping it will arrive before the camping trip so I can bring it with me are share it with anyone who's not tired of those pictures yet! I made it the maximum size (101 pages!) and had fun organizing all the pictures from friends through our honeymoon. Since I've been going strong on wedding pictures for so long, I may wait a bit before posting any more here.

Early Monday morning I had an odd experience waking up with terrible back pain. It was so nice to have John right there with me to talk with - what a blessing not to have to face things alone! My back has been hurting some for the last several days, but not that bad. I think I pulled a muscle and maybe the bed is a little soft for a sore back. I finally fell back to sleep on the floor. Last night we slept on a little firmer mattress (the sofa bed) which was fine. I'm hoping that after a few days my back will be back to normal.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Wedding Pictures: The Kids


Weddings are a lot of fun when you have cute kids in them! Having children in your wedding gives everyone the chance to have the unexpected happen. While it might have been funny to have something go wrong, I was thankful to have such cute well-behaved children (my nieces Sara and Lisa Beth and nephew Zach).

They did their assigned tasks beautifully!



Soon I hope to finish posting these staged photos and begin to post pictures from the actual ceremony itself. It's going to be fun to tell the story of the wedding with pictures. Anna's done a great job telling the story on her blog Maidens of Worth. Mine may take several posts and a little more time.

I've had a busy (and fun) day. It started with an hour or so at the DMV waiting in line and then taking (and passing!) the written test in order to get an Ohio drivers license. I've now changed my name on my license and will be able to fly down in a couple weeks for camping with no problem. Yes, we are going camping with the group in Alabama. I just didn't want to pass it up!

After getting my license, I started to create a wedding album using shutterfly online. It's been a lot of fun. Many thanks to Maria for creating a shutterfly book with our dating pictures. I don't think I would have seriously thought about making a wedding album otherwise. So far I've arranged 28 pages with just the posed pictures before the ceremony! It's going to be a long book-but it will be worth it.

Now I need to end this post since I'm supposed to leave in 8 minutes to play soccer with John and some people from his work. It's a bit chilly outside (in the 50's!) so I need to find some warmer clothes to wear.

I have a second interview at the first place I interviewed (in Hayesville) tomorrow at 10AM. Please pray that I would get this job if it is God's will.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Happy Birthday John!


Yesterday we celebrated John's 30th Birthday! On his birthday last year, John had only been in Ohio for a little while and didn't have anyone around to celebrate his birthday with him. We weren't dating at that time. However, I did write in my journal last year questioning whether or not I would ever see John again. I wrote that I was wondering what I would be doing on that day the next year. Considering all the questions I had at that time, it was a joy to be here and celebrate John's birthday last night!

I did a very non-typically-Miriam type thing and took out the nice things Trisha gave me in the "date night" basket shower gift and set up a "fancy dinner." She gave me the table cloth, place mates, napkins, glasses, candles, and candle holder as well as the sparkling apple cider. The dishes were given to me by another lady from my church (Marjie). It's a set of two that she was given when she got married and thought it might be fun for us to have. I actually had some fun setting up everything in order to make the birthday meal more special and to surprise John!


I even dressed up! Those of you who know me know that all this fancy stuff is not the normal Miriam! Natalie should be very proud:) I actually did have fun trying to think of all the non-Miriam stuff I could do to make the evening special.
John had fun opening his presents! John loves airplanes and Legos so I anticipate that we will enjoy spending some time putting together this plane that has over 1000 pieces!
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