On Passing Tests and Planning Trips

It's official, I'm legally a Professional Engineer!  That means that I can actually sign off on official engineering drawings and be liable for their contents (eek!).  Here's my results letter:

Results Notice
PE - Environmental Exam

05/31/2013

State Board: New Jersey
Exam Type: PE - Environmental
Exam Date: April 2013
Exam Result: Pass

Congratulations! You have achieved a passing score on your recent NCEES exam. Please note that NCEES does not release numeric exam scores; results are reported as pass or fail only.

See below for information on how to proceed with the licensing process in your state. We wish you continued success in your career.

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Your certification/license will be issued by the State of New Jersey within 60 days of passing the NJ Law examination, receipt of the Activation of License form and all license fees. If you passed the FE exam, you must also forward your final transcript to the NJ Board prior to the issuance of your certification. You will receive written notification and a copy of the NJ Law Examination if you have passed the FE/PE examination and have not already taken the NJ Law Examination. PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE BOARD OFFICE FOR ANY MATTERS PERTAINING TO THE NJ LAW EXAMINATION.

  

I'm beyond excited, and, truthfully, RELIEVED!  That I don't ever have to take that exam ever again!  And, really, that I don't have to study any more!  Ever if I really don't want to.  I mean, unless I go back to school to get a master's or a MBA, there's no reason for me to study ever again for anything!  Weird, right? 

We'll see what happens!

In other news, Greg and I just booked tickets to go to Ireland with my Grandmother, Mom, Aunt, and Cousin in the fall.  I'm very excited about going back to the Green Isle - Greg and I went once before we were married - and the country is truly spectacular!  I can't wait to taste delicious Ireland-sourced Guiness, eat tons of potatoes, and dodge sheep herds while driving from town to town.  It's going to be EPIC!  Here's a picture of our first trip to Ireland...it'll be fun to compare these pictures to the ones we'll get in a few months...I'm sure we look much older now!  haha.

 

 

Love Letter to my Husband

My Dearest,

Phew, where has the time gone?  Five seemingly short years ago, while on a hot, sunny beach on a tiny island off the coast of Puerto Rico, we vowed to love, support, protect, cherish, and laugh with each other for the rest of our lives.  We made all those promises based on getting to know each other as "more than friends" for a mere 1 year and a couple months.  But, at the time, I hadn't been more sure of anything in my life.  Plain and simple, you were (and are to this day) THE ONE!

These past five years have been tremendous.  We have gone from being somewhat careless city dwellers to suburban homeowners.  From hockey-stand builders to true do-it-yourself construction "experts" (even if we're the only ones who will certify that to be true).  We have traveled to distant continents as well as explored a few near-home locales, all of which have been intriguing in their own right, but none have been more comforting than the calm we feel when we return to the home we've made together!  We have experienced MANY ups and our fair share of downs, but we have managed to stay on the same page, forever forging forward, together, in what is now OUR life.

In the grand scheme of things, five years doesn't seem like much of an accomplishment.  Especially when you compare our longevity with that of many of our friends and family, who have managed to stay the course of loving one person for 10, 20, 30 years and more.  However, based on the life we've lived these past 5 years, I have not one doubt that we will surely be celebrating a Golden Anniversary, together, 45 years from today.  Think about that.  45 years from now.  That's more years away than either of us has been on this earth individually.  And, yet, I'm confident that we'll be old, gray, wrinkled, and still together, and, more importantly, still in love 45 years from today.  I HOPE that we'll be comfortably retired at that point also - but even that I'm not 100% sure of.

I know I don't take enough time in our normal day-to-day routines to stop and thank you for simply being the one person I share my life with - the one who I want sharing in my every happiness, every pitfall, and every roller-coaster ride in between.  Sometimes, when I talk about you with other people, I realize just how lucky I am to have such a loving, devoted, understanding, and non-judgemental person standing by my side.  You truly are my rock. 

Thank you for being unjaded, and for constantly striving to get me to see things through the same rose colored glasses you seem to wear daily.  Your ability to see the positive side of every situation amazes me - and your willingness to work hard to achieve your goals without letting the "little things" slow you down sometimes seems like a miracle to me, who gets caught up and hung up on too many details to see the big picture you see so clearly.

Most importantly, my dear, thank you for choosing me.  I have no idea what I did in this life or ones I've lived in the past, but I am positively certain that good karma and some act of kindness from "the gods" had a hand in us ending up together.  I love you more today that I did 5 years ago, and I look forward to experiencing our love grow as we both grow as individuals and together as the super awesome team that we are.

Happy Anniversary. 

Always,

Sarah :)

We have PLANTS!

Forgive the picture quality, as these were taken on my terrible Blackberry phone, but we finally have some plants in front of our house!  We are also trying to grow more grass, so we spread some topsoil, which is why there are parts of the lawn that look like big patches of dirt. In the front of the porch, we have pencil hollies on the outer-most corners, dwarf lilacs in the center, burning bushes adjacent to the stairs, and Jacob's Ladder in front of all three.  Around the tree, we have hostas, coral bells, day lillies, and more Jacob's Ladder.  I hope these things all grow in nicely!  Greg did a great job of outlining the garden borders using Belgian Block we got for free from our town (SCORE!).  I still wish the garden to the right of the stairs was a bit higher in elevation so that everythign in the front of our house didn't look so askew, but, to accomplish that, we'd need to add a retaining wall and fill in soil from the sidewalk back, plus we'd need to raise the screen stuff under the porch - which, as you all know, took entirely too much time to get installed last year, so we aren't really interested in modifying it at this point.

We'll see what happens as these plants grow in - I was afraid of planting too many things close together, but the front still looks a little bit bare to me.  Here's hoping these things start growing and blooming!