A Moving Update

We are actually NOT moving this Saturday. Our apartment wasn't quite ready, so we had to postpone our move date until next weekend. The guy cleaning it up and doing minor maintenance has a few things left to do. Hopefully everything will be ready next Saturday!

This week has gone quickly. I did get my computer at work on Monday! And I've enjoyed doing a little drawing now with both solidworks and an AutoCAD like program that came with it called DWGeditor (you can download a free 30 day trial version of DWGeditor here - it's perfect if you want to try out a 2D drafting program).

The drive has flown by as I finished listening to the audio book "In His Steps." I downloaded it free from christianaudio.com a couple months ago. If you sign up, they give out one free book each month, and I've enjoyed the books.

This Saturday John is at a church men's breakfast and then we plan to drive to Columbus to do a little shopping. I do have a little bit more packing to do and some other things as well this morning.

Ohio Friends!

Last week we were able to spend the evening with some of our Ohio friends.
We enjoyed dinner and a desert pizza. Taylyn couldn't believe how many pictures John was taking!


The men enjoyed the desert too!


Four Generations of family were there that night!


Taylyn and I helped out with dishes after the meal.



Taylyn's grandma Joyce was busy in the kitchen. She had invited us over so I could learn how they can pears.

Most of the work had already been done that day. She canned about a dozen jars of pear pie in a jar! The canning process doesn't seem very hard - it's the preparing of the fruit that takes a lot of time.
Relaxing after a long day!

We enjoyed the evening with our friends who feel like our family in Ohio!

Dangerous Chocolate Cake-in-a-Mug

This recipe is perfect for the singles and couples with no kids, or for anyone who needs just a little bit of chocolate to satisfy a craving! I had no idea you could make a chocolate cake in a mug in your microwave.

I received this recipe after signing up for free chocolate from Haydee Chocolatier. I haven't received them yet, but did get this in an email from them soon after.
1 - coffee mug (microwave-safe)
4 T. - cake flour (plain, not self-rising)
4 T. - sugar
2 T. - cocoa
1 - egg
3 T. - milk
3 T. - oil
1 - splash of vanilla
3 T. - chocolate chips (Optional-or use 4 chocolate kisses Like I did!)

Add dry ingredients to the mug; mix well with a fork. Add egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in milk, oil, and vanilla, and mix well. Add chips, if using.
Put mug in the microwave, and cook for three minutes at 1,000 watts. Cake will rise over the top of the mug -- do not be alarmed. When finished, carefully remove mug from microwave and allow to cool a little. Tip onto a small plate prior to serving, if desired. Yields one generous serving or two "more virtuous" servings.

It's not the best chocolate cake, but it is good. It's perfect if you're craving a little chocolate, but don't want to make a whole cake! Let me know if you try it!

Sending Saturday Packing

To "Send Packing" means to "dismiss abruptly." We didn't exactly dismiss Saturday abruptly, but rather we utilized it fully and said goodbye to it feeling like we had done a lot of packing!

We got a little extra sleep (which felt great after a week of work!) and then finally roused ourselves and went to the YMCA for some exercise.

Upon returning home, John did a little organizing and sorted out his CD collection.


Soon we had a quick lunch of bacon sandwiches, and then got to work. We plan to move to move into our new apartment next Saturday. Some of the guys from church are going to help us move after the men's breakfast. As we want to productively use their time, we have to be packed by then.

So, we needed a place to put all the boxes. Our first order of business was to clear a space - goodbye table!

Within a couple hours, the boxes were piling up! We labeled each box with the room it will go in (as well as contents for things we don't want to loose)!

As the afternoon wore on, the stacks became taller.

By the evening, we had packed up most of what we won't use this week and were good and tired of boxing things.

We enjoyed some dinner and then John washed up the dishes (Thanks John!) while I did a little more sorting. . .

and cleaned up the bathroom :) This picture reminds me of PCC white glove!

Soon we were on our way to Ruby Tuesdays to enjoy a nice date eating a chocolate tallcake desert! Of course, John would say that we really went in order to watch football games - where else can you watch 2 or 3 games at one time a couple times a month, and enjoy some food at less than the cost of cable? We enjoyed the evening and feel that we will be ready to move next Saturday morning! I'm looking forward to having more space. We'll be ready to have more visitors, so make your plans now!

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!

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.