Celebrating International Women in Engineering Day!

International Women in Engineering Day is celebrated every year on 23rd June, which is today. It is all about celebrating women who are working in engineering and encouraging more girls to get into it.

If I’m being honest, I used to fall into that old way of thinking where engineering looked like a man's job. When I heard the word engineer, I’d picture hard hats, big machinery, all of that stuff and usually men doing it. I never really pictured women in those roles. It’s funny how your thinking changes over time. Things changed when my youngest Ellie started showing an interest in engineering. That’s when it clicked that those old ideas didn’t really match reality any more. Things are changing, slowly but surely. The problem before was just that women weren’t really visible in those jobs, so a lot of girls probably never even thought it was something they could do. That’s exactly why days like this matter.

As a mam, it's a day that has become quite special to me because my youngest daughter is on her own engineering journey. Ellie is just finishing three years studying engineering at college. She did two years of City & Guilds Electrical Installation, which was tough going at times and she’s just finishing up an NVQ in Performing Engineering Operations. The latest course has been a bit easier for her, especially without the big end of year exam being a thing. Ellie's course finishes on Friday and she’s already been told she’s passed, which I’m so proud of.

Ellie has never once acted like engineering is just for boys. She has spent the last few years proving that thinking belongs in the past. When she started Electrical Engineering at college, she was the only girl in her class. Sixteen years old, walking into a room full of lads would’ve been my worst nightmare but she just got on with it like it was nothing and focused on what she was there to do. A couple of weeks later, another girl joined but by then Ellie had already settled in and made her mark. There was the odd supply teacher who’d walk in and assume she couldn’t do the same as the boys, like she wouldn’t be strong enough or be able to handle the tools and she’d prove them wrong without making a big deal of it but deep down she loved showing them anything a boy can do she could too and sometimes even better!

It has been fantastic to see more girls joining engineering courses over the last few years. When Ellie first started, there were only a handful but that number is slowly growing. It feels like things are finally shifting in the right direction, where girls are actually seeing engineering as something they can choose for themselves.

Today I’ll be celebrating all the women already doing amazing things in engineering, the girls studying it now, and the ones just starting out and of course, I’m a bit extra proud of Ellie today too. She’s worked so hard, stuck with it when things were not easy and never let anything put her off. I don’t know exactly where her engineering will take her next but I do know she’ll give it everything she’s got!

Happy International Women in Engineering Day to all the brilliant women and girls shaping the future!

Our weekly meal plan! 22nd - 28th June!! #MealPlanningMonday

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a good weekend. Ours was nice and quiet. Stu was very happy with his Father's Day gifts yesterday and my dad was too, so that made me happy. We didn't get up to much apart from watching more of the World Cup.

Last week's meal plan went well and we ate everything and on the day I had planned. I am getting back into the swing of things with coming up with meal ideas without using Gousto boxes. This week is going to include quite a few easy meals because we have a lot going on with Ellie leaving college. It feels strange even typing that. There is no big graduation ceremony or huge celebration planned and at the moment we don't even know if she has to go in for her final day. Everything seems a bit up in the air but I just know there is going to be a lot of life admin which comes with it and I will have to deal with it. Ugh!

We do have some fun plans this week though. At the very top of the list is going to see Toy Story 5 which I am so excited about. The Toy Story films have been part of my life for such a long time. I went to see the first Toy Story at the cinema with friends when I was a teenager and back then I never imagined that I would be watching the films with my own kids. Both of my girls grew up with Woody, Buzz and the gang and my very first blog post was linked to Buzz Lightyear in a roundabout sort of way.

On the menu this week we have:

Monday - Meatloaf and mashed potato.

Meatloaf is one of those meals that I completely forget about until I think about making it. Then, while I'm eating it, I wonder why we don't have it more often as the whole family enjoys it so much. I will make some mashed potatoes to go with it. I am hoping there will be some leftovers so I can have it for lunch tomorrow as it is one of those things that always tastes better the day after.

Tuesday - Greggs sausage rolls or pasties!

This is my easy tea for the week. I have a busy day and the weather forecast says it is supposed to be the hottest day of the week and I already know I won't feel like cooking. I am going to pop into Greggs and pick something up. I'm not sure what yet but it will either be sausage rolls, steak bakes, cheese and onion pasties or a mixture of everything.

Wednesday - Quiche and salad.

Another simple meal and one that doesn't take much effort from me. I already have shop bought quiches sitting in the fridge ready to go and all I need to do is pop them in the oven. I am hoping the family will join me in eating the salad but I know my girls well enough to know there is a good chance they will choose spaghetti hoops instead.

Thursday - Thai style pork patties with sweet potato fries!

This is another favourite meal of ours which originally came from Gousto. The patties are so full of flavour and always go down well. I can make them early in the day before the kitchen gets too hot and they warm up well when we are ready to eat!

Friday - Pizza!

I am trying to be sensible with money at the moment because we have some busy weeks coming up. There will be days out and meals out, so instead of having our usual takeaway, we'll be having frozen pizzas. It will save a bit of money and still gives us that Friday night treat feeling.

Saturday - Fakeaway KFC!

We love a meal like this with lots of picky bits. Chicken bits, corn on the cob, fries, onion rings, baked beans and coleslaw. I am very excited about this one as I can use more of the Ranch sauce. hehehe

Sunday - A help yourself evening!

I have no plan for Sunday, everyone can help themselves to whatever they fancy and use up bits from the fridge, freezer and cupboards. Last Sunday ended up being a proper lazy day and we had crisp sandwiches. Nobody could be bothered cooking and lazy meals like that are sometimes the nicest.

What are you eating this week?

A photo every day for a year! 14th - 20th June Week 25 of #Project365

Happy Sunday!! I hope you've all had a lovely week and are enjoying your weekend! Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there and thinking of you who are missing your dad's today. We're not doing much to celebrate as Becky is at work today and my dad is busy. We celebrated Stu last weekend and I have already dropped my dad's gift and card off, he was very happy with everything!

Apart from that it has been another week of football, pottering around the house, keeping on top of jobs and trying to stay cool. It has warmed up again here and is set to be even hotter next week. Eek! It's not even the nice, hot weather, it's the type where I move and I am dripping with sweat! Ugh!

Now for a photo every day!

165/365 14th June

I was a bad blogger. I forgot to take a photo of my food before I started eating. We went out for Sunday lunch and I had my usual gammon. I know some people like to try something different every time they go out but I like to stick with what I like. For dessert was Biscoff Banoffee pie and it was so good! I wish I had ordered a 2nd slice to take home!

166/365 15th June

One of my favourite things about this time of year is seeing everything growing and flowering and I noticed these pretty little flowers early in the week. They are the tiniest things and my plant identifier app says they are Sweet Alyssum.

167/365 16th June

This isn't the prettiest meal but it does taste good! One Tray Sticky Hoisin Sausage Traybake! It's just sausages, peppers, onions and little roast potatoes covered in Hoisin sauce. I do love the one tray meals as it means less washing up!

168/365 17th June

England had their first match in the World Cup and they won! Hooray! It was a bit tense at the beginning with the penalty but after that they did really well. I have never really liked Harry Kane but during that match he played so much better than he had in the past!

169/365 18th June

The pea and ham soup before it was blended. Once it was blended, it looked much more like proper soup and far less like a pan full of peas. I was very clever and saved some of the ham from the night before to put in it. It was delicious!

170/365 19th June

We were passing by the field and stopped to look at the sheep like we usually do and this time they came running! It was actually quite scary, I thought they were going to ram into the gate. I am guessing they thought we were going to feed them.

171/365 20th June

The Father's Day card that I got my dad and it's true! He is a big fan of any sport and when he is in front of the TV he always has one of the sports channels. I actually think I am beating him by watching more football than him during the World Cup though. He isn't staying up and watching the 11pm matches. hehehe

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This week my Word of the Week is: Father!! #WotW

This week my Word of the Week is:

I could easily have used the word football again as I have watched a lot over the past week and have been planning my evenings around the matches. Of course, I was celebrating England's win! 4 - 2 against Croatia. It sounds like a convincing win but watching it was stressful, especially with the penalty having to be retaken. I had never seen that before. One of the things I have really enjoyed is seeing some of the so called smaller teams giving the big teams a run for their money. It was great to see Portugal, Brazil and Spain only manage draws against teams that many people wouldn't have expected them to struggle against. It just goes to show that anything can happen in football. 

On Sunday we went out for a family lunch, an early one for Father's Day as Becky is at work tomorrow. It turned into a full day event. We had a lovely lunch out, went to another pub to watch the Grand Prix and then another pub closer to home just because we wanted to stay out and we ended up playing pool, watching football and singing along to lots of Queen songs. Those are my favourite family days, the ones that aren't planned!

I've had a really quiet week, I've not been up to anything exciting at all. I've stayed home and mostly just pottered around. It has been nice. It feels a bit like the calm before the excitement starts. Life is quiet now but we have lots of things happening over the next 3 or 4 weeks.

Stu has had a good week at work. Better than good actually. He was given a £200 bonus as he was the best in his team and what makes it even better is that it's a voucher so he won't be taxed on it. Also, a year or so ago, Stu was told that he could finish work at half past four instead of 5pm if he only had a half-hour lunch break but at the time it was pointless as the bus came at 4:45pm and it was a good 14 minute walk to the bus stop so he never made it in time and then had to wait until half five for his usual bus anyway. Early this week it came up in conversation and Stu realised the bus timetable had changed and now there's a bus at 5pm which he has been getting. Him getting home half an hour earlier has made such a difference to our evenings and the first evening it happened it surprised the girls so much. Becky thought she had slept in for her night shift as she is usually on her way out of the door when Stu is coming in and Ellie was just confused. I knew he was getting in early, they didn't! hehehe

I took my dad his Father's Day gift yesterday and I was told off. Stop wasting your money, he said to me and then got excited because I had bought all of his favourite treats. He does make me laugh. He is so hard to buy for, so I always buy him a foodie gift for special occasions, as he says he's at the age now where he has everything he needs or wants and if he doesn't, he just goes out and buys it. I think the only thing he could possibly want at the moment is for someone to come and do the paint work on one of his vintage cars. It's a long process and he has been on with it for around 2 weeks but I do think he's enjoying it.

Happy Father's Day for tomorrow to all the amazing dads, stepdads, grandads, father figures and those who take on that special role and sending extra love and hugs to anyone whose dad is no longer here, those spending today missing them, remembering them and wishing they could have just one more Father's Day together. Thinking of you all!

How has your week been? I hope you have had a good one! I am of course linking up with Anne who blogs at Raisie Bay to join in with her Word of the Week linky!