Oh hey... A blog post! (aka Life Lately)

I'm not even sure when the last time I blogged was.  I could look, but I know it was A LONG time ago.  We took a family trip to Texas at the beginning of March and I don't think I have really blogged since.  I think the only person that noticed I haven't been blogging is my mother-in-law (Hi Faith!).

The truth is that I have missed it.  Blogging, that is.  I still read some blogs.  I still comment on some, but not too many.  I miss the outlet.  And I miss the community.  Towards the end, I was feeling discouraged because the community part for me wasn't as strong.  But it's just like anything, it always takes time.  One foot in front of the other.

So I am going to give blogging a go again.  But with a little less pressure on myself.  For the time being, here's what has been occupying my time for the last 3 months.


1.  Henry
No big surprise here.  He turned two and is now OBSESSED with dinosaurs.  And mildly obsessed with trains.

Of course being 2 means we are also dealing with some of this:

{This tantrum resulted because I got him the snack he asked for.  Obviously his life is horrible.}

And boy has it been FUN!


2.  Sickness
Despite the ear tubes, Henry has had 2 bouts with ear infections (1 in only one ear, the other in both ears).  I do think the tubes are helping him not be in as much pain, so I won't say they haven't been worth it.  Not to mention that the tubes mean we can just use ear drops for the treatment.  He's getting pretty good about the drops.

{The dinosaurs come EVERYWHERE with us}

We have also had the awesome opportunity of passing some stomach bugs and sinus infections around.  Gotta love daycare.  I have heard that the first 2 years of daycare at the worst.  By that calculation, we only have 4 months left of constant sickness.  Not that I am counting or anything.


3.  Work
Thankfully, work has been busy.  I recently made the discovery that my entire evening is much more enjoyable if I can get off work at 4:30 instead of 5.  That half an hour may not seem like much, but 30  minutes in the evening is the difference between eating at 6 and eating at 7.  Traffic makes that much of a difference in 30 minutes.  I actually get to see Henry and spend time with him now.  It is AWESOME!  However, between leaving earlier and being REALLY busy, I have been going to work as early as possible.

Like 5 or 6 in the morning early.  And that means early to bed.  It makes for not a lot of blogging material.


4.  Work
I've been so busy at work that we actually hired someone else.  In the long run, this is going to be wonderful.  I wasn't able to progress in my career because I was bogged down by work that I have been doing for years.  In the short term, training someone is HARD.  Mostly because I have to get my work done and check someone else's.  That means I am having to work even more.  Nights and weekends.  And it looks a lot like this.

{Memorial Day evening}

{Sunday afternoon}

Working in the sunshine was about twelve kinds of wonderful though.  I mean, if you have to work doing it outside with some iced tea isn't so bad.

In other work related news, I got a standing desk.

Actually, it is so much cooler than just a standing desk.  It is motor-controlled so I can either sit or stand.  Is it sad how excited I got about this?  Probably.


5.  Healthiness
A fitness trainer I know offered her workout program for free to her Facebook friends as long as we agreed to beta test it for her.  So far, it is so crazy hard.  I'm a month into it and already have noticed some serious changes.  I have 8 weeks left and I am already looking at purchasing a similar type of workout system when it is over to keep the changes coming.

And it is crazy how when you are working your butt off with exercise, it kind of makes you not want to ruin it all by eating total crap.  So I have been spending some time and energy figuring out some healthier recipes and cooking.  The bad news is that we spend more on groceries and I feel like I am constantly cutting up fruits and veggies.  The good news is that Phil has lost like 5 lbs.



So that's pretty much it.  I need to get my writing mojo going again.  I have a feeling this post was somewhat painful to read.  No fear, it's just like riding a bike.  Hopefully.

Leadership

A part of my job sometimes includes speaking in front of people.  Sometimes this is at public hearings, in front of neighbors who never like what I have to say.  Sometimes it is in front of just a few people at government meetings.

Sometimes neighbors will get up and basically call you an idiot for what you said.  And sometimes the government officials you are speaking to will call you an idiot.

For both scenarios, you don't really get to defend yourself.  You have to just sit there, nod your head, and take it.

I hate that.

Like public speaking isn't hard enough, I think it is even harder when you know you are going to get swung at.

At that's not figurative.  The police have been called to a public hearing I was a part of before.

One of my biggest challenges as a young engineer is proving my knowledge in a room of older engineers.  My age definitely works against me.  And the worst thing I think I could do when I am being hit with rude comments and misinformation is get worked up or let my frustration show.

Meetings aren't the only place my age plays against me.

I am the youngest person at my company.  By at least 7 years.  Some of our employees have been working there for over 20 years.  Literally, I was 4 when one of them started working for my dad.  They have seen me grow up.  I worked there answering phones a couple of summers.  I did all of my internships there.  They have seen me at my not-so-finest, when I didn't quite have the most professional behavior.  It is really hard to undo all of that history and I struggle a little with how to go from answering phones to being a leader within ten years.

Which is why I am so glad I am going to be participating in a Leader Development Series for the next 8 months.  It's 2 hours a day, one day a month, for the next 8 months.  Each month is a different topic, from public speaking, to effectively running a meeting, to finding balance and time management.

When I spoke to one of the organizer's for the series, he told me to be prepared to be uncomfortable and to be ready to push myself.

Thanks for the warning I guess.

But in all honesty, I am ready.

It's not going to be easy for me.  I mean, engineers aren't known for being the most outgoing.  But I am committed to getting the most out of the series as possible.

The organizer also told me to prepare to be "more awesomer".

A part of me feels like I am starting to hit my stride a little bit at work.  I still have so much to learn and so many ways to improve.  But my confidence is starting to grow and grow.  And I am ready to develop my professional skills outside of the technical spectrum.

So wish me luck!  I'm not exactly sure what will be involved at our first meeting today.  Maybe we will be doing trust falls or something.

Workin' Hard

When Henry was about 5 weeks old, I had to start going back to work.

My boss (my dad for those not in the know) was going to be out of town on vacation for the week.  Since I am the only other engineer in the office and this is an engineering firm, it was important for at least 1 engineer to be available to answer phone calls.

 There was NO WAY I was leaving my 5 week old with anyone.  Just thinking about it makes me want to cry.

What's a girl to do?  Bring him with me, of course!

Truthfully, being a business owner has a lot of challenges.  I wasn't exactly thrilled with having to go back to work so soon.  I didn't really get much of a maternity leave, but I suppose it is to be expected when you own a business.  You make sacrifices when you have to. But one of the benefits is that I get to be a little more flexible with work schedule and work conditions.  This has definitely been a blessing through the whole cancer/having a baby stuff.

He does a lot of this:

Working Hard from Natalie Janney on Vimeo.

And some of this:

Sleepy from Natalie Janney on Vimeo.

{I just love that he is petting his giraffe.  Tired little guy}

And a whole lot of this:

At this age, Henry isn't mobile and spends a decent amount of time napping.  Well, he can nap at the office just fine.  None of this would be possible if he weren't such a good baby.  And he really is an amazing baby.

He won't be coming with me to work every day for much longer.  He starts daycare three days a week in September.  I know it is what is best for our situation.  I have to work and at daycare he will get to interact with other babies.  He will get a TON more stimulation than he would with just me at home.  Heck, they even take field trips with the babies.  Henry will have A BLAST there.  Plus it will help me get more done at work.

What will he do the other two days?  Probably come with me to the office or my mom will watch him.  Daycare is SPENDY so we are figuring out something that will work out.  Most likely I will want for him to come with me.  I can't imagine not having my little man with me all day.  :(

Can you blame me?  I get to look at this:

Only occasionally this:

Ok I think he's cute even when he cries.  :)

Work

Sometimes I wish I could share my stories about work...

...Like the time a neighbor to our project suggested we use a bunch of poisonous plants in our apartment complex because they were native (poison oak is technically native but that doesn't mean I am going to plant it in my garden).

...Or the time I went to a neighborhood meeting for an apartment complex where the neighbors talked about how renters were all pedophiles, white trash, or perverts (personal offense since I am a renter and I am pretty sure perverts can own property too.  What is this, 1790?  You are only worth something if you are a property owner?).

...Or the other day when one of my employees said we would be more successful if only we worked harder (Um... first of all I am an owner.  Secondly, no one works harder than my dad.  Third, he was standing by the coffee pot, shooting the breeze when he said that.).

...Or the time a woman told my dad he was ruining her life because of a project we were doing (and we totally were not by the way).

...The kitchen duty can disappearance (Sound dumb?  It was kind of ridiculous).


But it probably wouldn't be totally appropriate to put those details on the internet.  But like I have said in the past, engineering isn't always boring.

Wish List (Currently)

Here is a compilation of my current wishes.  Prepare yourself... they are deep.

In no particular order...

I wish that:

- Pumpkin Spice Lattes were 0 calories.  And that they cost $1.

- It was socially acceptable to wear sweatpants to work.  Apparently that makes me "unprofessional."

- There were more paid holidays.

- That I had a British accent.  I started to get one when I first lived in England.  By the time I went home for Christmas, I had picked up the inflections (the way Brits ask questions sounds different than us Yanks) but now it is all gone.  Sad.

- That there was another writer's strike on TV so I wouldn't have to wait until next July for the next season of Big Brother (guilty pleasure).

-  That the women of The Real Housewives of (Insert City name here) would get a taste of reality.  Seriously... have you seen these women?


So far I think that is it.  And I didn't wish for world peace because that is implied.  Obviously.


Love, Mrs. Janney

My job is hard

A view from my desk.  These guys are LOUD talkers.  Makes focusing interesting.

It has been a tough couple of weeks at work for me.  I am trying to learn how to do calculations I have never done before and I find it stressful.

Actually at times, I find the very concept of my job a little overwhelming.  I am supposed to design things and make sure it is safe for people to live/work in.  I am supposed to make sure walls don't fall down, houses don't blow over, roadways don't fail.  If I really think about it, it kind of freaks me out.

Maybe I am just not cocky enough.  I think a lot of engineers have quite a bit of hubris when it comes to their intellectual capacity (which I think can be both a good and a bad thing).  I probably need to have more confidence.

In reality, my lack of confidence is probably a good thing.  It means I take my time.  I make sure I know what I am doing.  I double check and then check again.

But each day, I am reminded about how much I don't know.  I am sure everyone feels that way about their jobs.  This last week, it has been a little more in my face.

This is a Man's World

Tegan posted this video on facebook this morning, so I thought I would take 15 minutes for "professional development" and watch it. I thought it was very good and had some great points.





Being a woman in a male-dominated field most of the time sucks. I am not even going to mince words about it. If I had known how challenging engineering was going to be mostly because I am a woman, I don't know if I would have picked it as a career. Don't get me wrong, I love engineering. I find it interesting to know how the things work and I love being able to understand things. But it is hard being a woman. Here are a few things I have noticed:

1. Men don't shake your hands. They will say hello to you and shake the hands of every man in the room, but they will not shake yours. They almost do like a smile and nod. This tends to make me feel like I am in the room merely as a decoration (which I am because I am pretty :) ) and to take notes. While I may take notes for my mental purposes, I am not the note taker. I have started to remedy the handshake issue by assertively sticking my hand out there so they are forced to shake it.

Half of the time, they give me a soft hand shake. And don't even get me started on the soft hand shake. It is creepy. I liken it to having a stranger whisper to you. I am not a petite flower. I am not saying you have to crush my hand, but I promise your hand shake won't break my hand.

2. Some male engineers won't even look at you. I was at a meeting with a city engineer and the other engineer in my office (a man) discussing a stormwater system that I designed. The other engineer from my office helped with the design, but the issue being discussed at that time was as aspect of the design I had done. The city engineer WOULD NOT LOOK AT ME. I would say something and he would answer back to the other engineer. This was mildly infuriating. And when I say mildly, I mean extremely. The city engineer wasn't even an old guy. You kind of expect that kind of thing from a white-haired engineer (who most likely didn't have a single woman in their engineering class), but not from a guy in his 30s. I still haven't figured out how to remedy that one.


3. When I state my opinion, I am considered a mean person. One might even say a "witch" but change the "w" to a "b". Now, a man states his opinion and he is professional. But I am bossy. Now I am very aware that in the past, I have had my "witch with a b" moments. For to the most part in the last couple of years, I have mellowed. And I should be allowed to state my professional opinion without being considered a female dog (if you catch my drift). To remedy this, I am currently working on what I like to call, "The Stroke and Slap" method of delivery. I got the idea from Phil's cousin Cathy who mentioned that in the South, you can basically insult someone as long as you include "Bless her heart" in part of the sentence. For example, "She smells so bad, bless her heart." Think about it... It works.


Those are just some thoughts I have on being a female engineer. The video is just under 15 minutes long, but if you are or someone you know is a woman, trying to earn her way up the professional ladder, it is definitely worth the watch.


Girl Power!


Love, Mrs. Janney