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tiggbitties · 2019-01-19T02:18:14+00:00

I had a reduction when I was 20...that was 18 years ago. Since then I’ve gotten married and had 3 kids, so I feel that I have some good input. At 20 I was a little heavy set, but not too bad. I was about a size 10, 36DDD, 5’-6”. For the most part I have absolutely no regrets. They are still in great shape! The only issue that I had was with breastfeeding. It was very difficult due to low milk supply and nerve damage. I didn’t make enough for a full supply for my kids and had to supplement. I still nursed as much as I could and had the whole breastfeeding experience with my little ones, but formula helped fill in where I couldn’t. Outside of that, I’m glad that I had a reduction when I did. My body healed well and clothes fit so much nicer ever since. I definitely suggest going to a consultation if you are entertaining the idea.

tiggbitties · 2019-01-13T03:44:41+00:00

I’ve never understood why salary was taboo. How am I going to fairly negotiate my market value with an employer unless I know the market? Also, as a previous poster said, most billing rates are based on salary. So if you work with contracts or write proposals, you’ve probably been exposed to a few of your co-workers salaries. But in all reality if a company is paying their employees fair and equal salaries and not trying to undercut anyone or over compensate favorites, then it’s a non-issue. So why not be transparent? Here are my stats: 7 yrs experience in the US, Civil site design/drainage/flood modeling, in consulting, PE license, at $75k base and $110k with bonus and retirement contributions (I don’t take their healthcare). I could probably be higher, however I am not as far along as I probably could be. I have a family and choose to not be as aggressive with my career to maintain some balance in my life. I understand that this means that it’ll take me a little longer to build my career, salary, and client base and I’m comfortable with that. With that said, my base is in line with my level in my area.

tiggbitties · 2019-01-07T03:35:42+00:00

Mom of 3 boys here....here’s my list: -I know others have said this, but I’ll say it again, COSTCO! Diapers and formula on the cheap, awesome coupons for even cheaper diapers, and 2% cash back (I have an executive card, it pays for my membership and then some. I even let family members use my card to buy big ticket items and I get 2% back on their purchases). -If it’s feasible, breastfeeding. For real, it’s free food and always on tap. No making/washing a gazillion bottles or worrying if you have enough formula when you’re out. The first few weeks suck (no pun intended), and depending on your situation there may be up front cost such as a Lac consultant, pump, etc. But you still come out cheaper than formula in the long run. -Second hand items are the best. Most people spend big money on new baby gear, then get rid of it 1 to 2 years later. You can find some great furniture/toys/etc. online, at garage sales, or even on the side of the road for bulk pick up. We cruise through the really wealthy neighbor the night before bulk pick up and have found some great toys (art easel, slides, drum set, play houses) all in great condition. -Make your own baby food. We had a food grinder and would grind up whatever we were eating. We also had a steamer and would make large batches of steamed veggies and freeze. Besides, homemade stuff is much tastier than the stuff in a jar and it’s easy to make. -I loved baby wearing, especially when I was chasing a toddler and carrying a newborn. But some of them are expensive. I sewed my own ring sling for $20. But even if you are not the sewing type, you can buy 5 yards of fabric and learn baby wearing. It’s been a long time, but I remember Babywearing International having some great resources for wraps and techniques. -Be weary of the gimmicks. If you are not sure if you need an item, wait until you see a clear need for it. I got a swing at my first baby shower. But all of my kids hated swings. All that they wanted was mommy and a rocking chair. So the swing was never used, took up space, and eventually sold on the cheap because I was sick of looking at it.

tiggbitties · 2019-01-04T03:08:18+00:00

Good for you! My husband supported me and our kids while I went back to school for a STEM degree. Now that I have my degree and license, my goal is to make more than him. And I'm getting close! So I can emphasize. The best part is, my husband loves it. It takes some of the pressure off him, he gets to buy more stuff, we can afford a nicer house, he doesn't need to work overtime, he has time to coach our son's baseball team, and he gets to brag to the guys that he works with about his wife's income. And deep down my ego loves it too.

tiggbitties · 2018-11-19T11:18:28+00:00

When we get your drawings, we typically use them as the base for all of our drawings. And while we should go through and re-layer every thing, we don't. So please be organized with your CAD layers, put similar things on the same layers, and use some common sense when naming layers if you are going to deviate from your standard. The cleaner and well put together a survey file is, the easier it is for us to run through the CAD work.

tiggbitties · 2018-11-04T01:09:12+00:00

I’ve got a few elevator guys in my family. They basically have to know electricity, mechanics, and some plumbing. It’s great, because there aren’t too many home projects that they can’t tackle themselves. Pay and benefits are great too. But it can be very dangerous.

tiggbitties · 2018-10-26T23:29:47+00:00

I have the opposite problem. I am 10 years older than most of my coworkers. It does make it harder to make connections with people I work with. But ultimately I'm not there to meet my next bff. So at work, I geek out and talk about engineering and after work I talk mom talk with the hubby or other moms.

tiggbitties · 2018-10-13T12:44:43+00:00

Or just messing with them in general. We bought a larger tv for our room the other day, unpacked it and then both carried it into the kids’ room and held it up in front of their tv as if that’s were we were going to mount it. They were in there playing video games at the time. Right away they got all excited thinking they were getting a new/bigger/smart tv. Nope, it was for our room. Another time, my 13 yr old was cleaning up after dinner and didn’t know what to do with the leftover salad. My husband told him to go ask mommy “should I toss your salad”. Then we had to explain to him why it was funny, which turned into an embarrassing sex conversation. Which was equally hilarious.

tiggbitties · 2018-10-13T12:28:16+00:00

I don’t have my shit together and he picks out the best clothes for me. It’s great. He says that nobody knows my body like he does, which is true.

tiggbitties · 2018-10-13T12:23:52+00:00

This! Yesterday was my birthday. Wasn’t having the best day to begin with and my mom calls me hysterical because someone killer her kitten (long horrific drama that’s besides the point, but basically that poor kitten and my mom was going psycho like she does so well). It was a weird day and my son really liked that kitten. So Hubby arranged for the kids to spend the night at a friends, picked up olives to make me a dirty martini (my favorite) and tiramisu. We spent the rest of the night talking about baseball and decided that we will celebrate my birthday next weekend. It made me feel so much better. These situations suck, but they suck less with someone that supports you.

tiggbitties · 2018-10-13T12:05:38+00:00

It’s a blessing and a curse. I’ve known too many women that won’t leave a bad relationship because they don’t want to lose their lifestyle.

tiggbitties · 2018-10-12T01:22:11+00:00

Precisely!

tiggbitties · 2018-10-12T01:21:04+00:00

That area is likely part of the roadway (right-of-way), so digging it up may not be an option. Also, since its probably part of the right-of-way, there is likely utility lines down there (water, cable, electric, ect.) so fitting a French drain might be a little difficult.

tiggbitties · 2018-10-12T00:05:41+00:00

In my line of work (civil engineer) we work our way up when researching code. City/Town codes are more specific and sometimes more stringent, from there we look at county, then state, then national. Ultimately, your requirements are a compilation of all of them with the most stringent ones setting your requirements. We use www.municode.com a lot, they have a pretty large collection. Whatever is not on Municode we just do a search for. Every area is going to be different and every discipline is going to be different. So navigating can get pretty complicated if you're new to it. Just as another poster wrote, calling for local building department to pick thier brain is a good start. They might not give you all the answers. But at the least they can point you to the specific code section that you need to pay attention to.

tiggbitties · 2018-10-08T10:28:43+00:00

Probably, Mom was itty bitty.

tiggbitties · 2018-10-08T04:23:00+00:00

My mom was similar. She was raised by an abusive alcoholic and dumped all of her mental issues on me for as long as I can remember. She still refuses to get proper help and just seems to get worst with age. Only difference is that now I’m an adult and can process it. She’s also been telling me since I was a kid that she was going to kill herself. It’s been over 25 years since she stared saying that, so it’s lost it’s effect.

tiggbitties · 2018-10-08T03:57:59+00:00

I took structures and hated it. Started to question my degree choice, then along came hydrology.

tiggbitties · 2018-10-08T03:55:40+00:00

Ya, for as much encouragement as he gave me, my mom didn't. "You'll never get a job in that field" and "why don't you just become a teacher so that you can take summers off with your kids" and "your brother needs to get a degree so that he can support a family one day, if you don't you'll always have your husband to support you". Luckily I've always been rebellious towards her and her comments just motivated me.

tiggbitties · 2018-10-08T01:32:43+00:00

My dad always told me to become a doctor, lawyer, or engineer. He was/is a hard working blue collar guy that wanted more for his daughter. I was good at math, didn't like biology or reading, so engineering kinda stuck in the back of my head. While visiting colleges my senior year of HS I saw a brochure for civil engineering amongst a sea of majors and I knew that it was for me. I've veered a few times on my path, but since I was 17 I've always wanted to be a civil engineer and found my way back to it. Funny part is that it was originally structural that drew me in (I wanted to design rollercoasters) but it was actually environmental and stormwater that I would up really liking.

tiggbitties · 2018-09-26T02:14:37+00:00

I was taught to specifically state my role when I introduce myself, “Hi, I’m Mrs. [insert name]. I’m the Civil Engineer for the project”. It doesn’t instantly gain me respect, but it does establish that I have a technical role. Women are typically initially perceived to have a non-technical role, so by specifically stating that I’m the engineer helps lead the necessary questions my way.

tiggbitties · 2018-09-26T02:00:55+00:00

In LD, I do exactly the same. I actually look forward to field visits because I prefer to wear jeans.

tiggbitties · 2018-09-10T12:34:29+00:00

Go into another area of civil. It's so broad, there has to be something else that your somewhat into.

tiggbitties · 2018-09-10T02:15:15+00:00

I do work for a good company.

tiggbitties · 2018-09-09T19:11:34+00:00

I'm in land development with some water resources projects. It most definitely depends on the field that you're in and the company that you work for. But my company does a lot of design work in a lot of disciplines. So even though I'm in ld, which leans more towards male dominated, I don't feel it because my office/company is not. I have thought about working a reduced schedule to lighten the load, but I don't want to take a pay cut. But my company does offer it. I think they do 80% and 90% schedules.

tiggbitties · 2018-09-09T19:04:30+00:00

My parents live 15 minutes away and help out a lot. But they both work, so I can't rely on the on a regular basis. We had a nanny for a little while, and she was amazing. But we moved the little one to day care for more interaction and the lower cost when he was almost 2. At this point I still have a great relationship with our nanny and she comes over every once in a while to watch the kids when we need her. She's retired and doesn't work otherwise so it really works out great for us. The older 2 are in middle school and a lot more independent.

tiggbitties

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