Ideas

I went to a coding workshop this past weekend where I got to learn the ins and outs of building a website/blog from the ground up. Right now it’s just a generic blog using the provided text and code. Want to see it?

But it’s kind of sparked some ideas.

I want to go back through the course, taking my time to understand the information instead of trying to cram it all into one day.

But do I need a second blog? What would I name it? What would it be about? These are the questions I’ve been asking myself.

I have two ideas. One is a blog strictly for my photos. I would love to see more of my pictures being enjoyed.

The second idea is based on an idea from my mom. Anytime I asked her about something and she didn’t know, she would tell me to “look it up.” I don’t know what the contents of that blog would hold, but I love the idea.

Anyway, I have to go back to work. Here’s another picture to enjoy.

Hugs,

Melinda

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Busy, busy, busy

Here I am at the end of the third week at my new job, and it still amazes me that I got it.  I don’t have the experience, I barely have the knowledge, so how in heck do I get hired??

I’ve also learned more about something called imposter syndrome.  It’s a new term to me, but the more I read about it, the more I’m convinced that I’ve been suffering with it my whole life.  You may know it by it’s other name:  Low self esteem.  Here’s an article for you to read.

That what imposter syndrome is.  It’s defined as not feeling worth and constantly having to prove one’s self.  Sounds an awful lot like low self esteem.  (Here’s an article on confidence quotes.)

I must make a confession.  I’m writing this at work.  By hand.  Because I’m sitting and watching and asking questions.  This type of training is new to me.  I’m much more used to a different type of training.  Much more reading and testing and hands on training.  Having to sit and be patient while I’m learning is a new experience for me.

I’m learning all sorts of new terms and software and acronyms and … all sorts of stuff.  I would share some of the alphabet soup with you, but I’m not sure what’s proprietary and what’s not.

Tomorrow also starts a new adventure for me.  I’m going to be a part of DjangoGirlsKC for the first time and learn all about Python.  Or at least start to learn about it.  While I’ve played with Scratch from MIT, I’ve never really explored coding in depth.  It should be interesting!

I have new ideas about my new career path.  I’m contemplating network engineer.  It’s a big, scary word and I might not ever achieve it, but I am considering it.  Why not?  I won’t reach it if I don’t try.  Right?

I have new acquaintances:   a grandmother, a couple of nerds and geeks, at least 4 veterans, and a member of the church.

I have a cubicle of my very own.  That’s new.  I’ve never had my own space before.  I know some people don’t like that, but I’m having fun decorating my little space, and making it “mine.”

I have logins and a computer.  I have 3 monitors, which is a new experience.  I have a headset.  I have drawers.

I have stability.  I know the times I’m working.  I don’t have any question about my paycheck.  It’s going to be a set amount.  As long as I work 40 hours a week, I get the same amount, every week.

My one word was given to me as new.  I didn’t even choose it, it was given to me by a friend.  (Thanks Mollie.)  As I look over the past 6 months, I can see how right she was.  This is a season of new for me.

And at the same time, it’s still a season of prayer, my word from last year.  In this time of new, I find myself turning more and more to the old, trustworthy word of God.

By the way, do you like my new Bible?  I finally got a journaling Bible so that I can draw in my Bible without covering up the words.

In turning to the old, I’m discovering new truths.

And isn’t that the way a relationship is supposed to be?

May we all discover the newness of God’s word.  May we fall in love with His truth again and again and again.

In Him,
Hugs,
Melinda

New

The word is new.  The year has been filled with new. I have a new certification.  I have a new circle of friends.  I have a new job.

Oh yeah.  I have a new job!  I’m working with a staffing agency, but I’ll be a “Ops Tech I” with CenturyLink hopefully starting the first part of July.  It’s not where I want to end up, but I think it’s going to be an excellent starting point.

It has been interesting transition, this change from being a stay at home mom to full time working mom.  You have your usual problems, such as mom guilt, and housework, and lack of family time.  And then there are the other problems.

The biggest one:  IT is not my background.  I’m a theater girl.  And not even an actor, but tech theater!  So I’ve had to learn a lot of techie geeky type stuff this year.

To be fair to myself, I do have some of the information.  I can’t help it.  Dale likes to talk about his job, and I like to ask him questions about his job.  But the difference is that now I understand what he’s talking about.  But all of the years of asking him how to do something, and having to use Google and Bing to get the answers, and all the years of helping my dad through phone calls and GoToMyPC.com are starting to come together.

Am I going to be perfect?  Absolutely not.  Am I going to work my hardest?  Always.  That’s not new.

And I’ve got a great support system.  I’ve managed to find myself a part of the Kansas City chapter of IAMCP WIT, which is the International Association of Microsoft Channel Partners, Women in Technology.  But these women.  I don’t know what it is exactly, other than amazing.  I have never ever seen a group of women as dedicated to helping each other as this group.  Several of us were having trouble getting interviews, so one of the ladies set up a mentor lunch.  I redid my resume from the feedback I got.  Now I have a new job.

That was 2 weeks ago.

It’s been mind-blowing.

And next year, we are going to be the WIT chapter that hosts the IAMCP WIT worldwide conference, here in KC.  I’m just slightly excited about it.

And I’m writing this from the VMUG UserCon.  It has a new name.  It used to just be VMUG.  This is my third year to come.  The difference is that last year, I came for the swag.  This year, I came to get more information.  It’s primarily cloud storage and backups, but there are other things I’ve been learning.

This was going somewhere, but I forgot where.

Oh.  I’ve done this for many reasons, but the biggest one is for my girls.  I want them to know that they can do anything that they want, no matter how old they are or the amount of training they have, as long as they put their mind to it and do the work that it requires.

Now granted, there are some things that have restrictions.  Like, I can’t join the military or become an astronaut.  But I can start a new career, even at my age.  I can do it, and so can they.

So don’t be afraid to reach for the new, for the challenge.  It will keep you young.  I promise.

Hugs,
Melinda

Photo by Fancycrave on Unsplash

The Super Secret Project

For the past year… well, the past 11 months, I’ve been working on something that I had given the nickname “Super Secret Project.”  It was and is a list of 1000 reasons of why I love my husband Dale.  I started it with this post, if you want to step back and read about the why.  None of the posts are private.  I just didn’t send them to Facebook or Twitter, because I was trying to make certain he didn’t see them before it was time.

There are a couple of things.  One, I didn’t get to 1000 reasons within the year.  I got to 225.  But that doesn’t mean I’m stopping or giving up.  I want each reason to be meaningful, and I felt like trying to force 1000 reasons within a year wouldn’t be the point.  So expect to still see posts on why I love my husband.

But more importantly, two, he LOVED it.  I would like to say it was a complete success!  When I handed it to him at breakfast, he opened it, read the first page and said, “I don’t know what to say.”  And then he proceeded to read the entire thing.

When we were talking about it later, he said that this is what he’s been asking for as a present for years.  He wants me to take the time to do something, make something, spend time focusing on him and to give him that quality time.  And that this was perfect.

The rest of Father’s Day was pretty good, too.  We didn’t have the girls, because they are all at camp this week.  But we had a good day.  We went to a restaurant called Jazz, A Louisiana Kitchen, where he got to eat crawfish étouffeé and boudin.  We had beignets for dessert.  Then we went to his new favorite store, Menards, to get some more supplies to stain the deck.  Which we were going to do yesterday, but it was too hot, so we’re going to do it this morning.  We watched Ant-Man, went to bed when we wanted to, and today we are sleeping in (mostly).

Anyway, I’m rambling.  What I want to say is this.

I love my husband.  

And I will continue to love him for the rest of my life.

Hugs,
Melinda

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Reasons I love Dale:

226.  He has never really complained about my not using as much spice in our food as when he was growing up.  He laughs about he can’t handle “spicy” as much as he used to.  But he still likes his food warmer than I do.
227.  His creative solutions and his love of 550 cord.  He helped me put together a chair for my downstairs table.  Only the screw broke.  His solution was to use 550 to hold it together.  It’s working (so far).
228.  He doesn’t tattle.  This one is harder to explain.  Long story short:  there was a situation at work with someone not doing what they were supposed to.  He called the manager, but didn’t tattle on the person.  But the manager got it figured out pretty quickly.
229.  He’s just really cute and funny without trying to be.  Today’s picture is of him trying to eat boudin at Jazz.  They split it open to double check to make sure it’s done.  When they brought it out, he said, “why did they cut it open?  You don’t eat boudin like that!”  This was him demonstrating how to eat it correctly.  

It’s almost time

I’m almost one month away from working on my super secret project for a full year. You know. The one about why I love Dale. (You can find it here.)

This morning, I compiled all of my posts into a Word document. Without any editing, it’s 46 pages. Not as long as I’d hoped but longer than I anticipated.

Regardless, I’m not finished, and I hope I never am.

I can tell it really did change my attitude, this attitude of gratitude for my husband. I hope he can see the changes in me and in our marriage that I’ve tried to make. Because I love him. And he’s worth fighting for.

Reasons I love Dale:

221. He’s generous. I said I needed a hard copy of a study book. He bought me four.

222. He puts family first. We were supposed to go on vacation. My sister asked for help and he didn’t hesitate. So we’re doing a semi vacation instead.

223. He’s forgetful. But I’ve come to understand that it is because he is always thinking of a hundred different things at once and he gets distracted.

I’m going to try to write more, but I’m waiting on a bus.

The bus came. I got on. I got off. It’s eleven billion degrees outside.

224. He’s thoughtful in his own way. The study book he got me not only has a discount code for the test, but it also has practice software. It’s going to be very useful.

225. He likes to grill. Which means I don’t have to cook for like a week.

That’s all I have for today. I’m trying to cool off and get ready for work and study in my new amazing book. Have a good day everyone.

Hugs,

Melinda.

The pictures are of when he first got to meet Avonlea. She’s not too sure of Uncle Dale, but he bought her a teething ring she loved.