Journey Forward ∴ 9 - Quarter Check In

Can you believe we are a quarter through twenty12 already? This weeks Journey Forward was to look back at the progress we have made towards our one word & goals.

• Complete 4 or more blog designs per month.

Holla! I'm not quite up to four every month, but my average is right around four. Blog design can be tricky in that some projects take longer than others & carry over from month to month. Nevertheless, I'm quite proud of myself & these 15 designs!

January (3): Mrs. Alana's Miscellany, Lattes & Love, Of Our Parents
February (6): The Shelton Family, Reading, Eating & Dreaming, You are the Roots, Post Cards from TG, Creative Bug
March (3): Human Sparkler, Keep Your Sunnyside Up, C Squared W
April (3): Maggiano Takes Austin, Lovely, Flowers, Ribbons and Pearls

• Find an online teaching job at a college or university. 

Fail. I did have one fun job opportunity sent my way, but it didn't work out. I have a feeling this is going to be hard to accomplish before moving back to the states. The good news is that I have my portfolio & resume all ready to go when the time comes! {www.kathrynprice.info}

• Make dates with my husband to have fun together at least twice a month.

At the beginning of the semester Chris and I were going out together almost every Saturday night. In March we had fun at his 4th Semester Banquet. But as the semester has started closing in (tests!) he just hasn't had the time for it. Hopefully in 5th semester there will be more time for these sorts of things without the stress of so many exams.

• Read 12 books. 

Yes! I'm at 4 books: Love Wins, Outlander, Sing You Home, Fifty Shades of Grey. Reading is one of my favorite things to do, so I think I will always find time for it. It helps me to relax.

• Relax

Seriously, I feel like I'm working on this daily. Starting my own little design company has been a lot of hard work and a lot of long hours. That little list of 15 blogs up there represents my heart and soul for the past 4 months.

I feel like the Journey Forward challenge has helped me stay accountable during this time. Knowing that I have to write a post every week about how I am doing with relaxing has really helped me to stay in check. I get so easily lost in my computer & design; two hours can feel like twenty minutes for me. Living with a relaxed attitude is a work in progress for me.

1  ∴  2  ∴  3 ∴  4 ∴  5 ∴ 6 ∴ 7 ∴ 8

What about you? Do you want to join in on the Journey Forward challenge? It's not too late!

Blogger Pet Peeves

I've had Priceless Adventure for nearly two years now. {Read my first post!} In that time, I've transitioned from a purely personal blogger to branching out into the blogging community. Over the last few months I've been putting my heart & soul into blogging and interacting with other bloggers. In that time, I've come across a few things that just irk me. Let me share.

• Comment Moderation

Turn it off! You will not get spammed, promise! Nothing is worse than going to leave a comment and then having to guess at the word verification. Be kind to those of us who might be reading on our iPad or phone. Leaving a comment from my iPad is nearly impossible if comment moderation is turned on. At this point, if I don't get it the first try, I just don't comment. You don't want that! Turn the darn thing off.

Here is how (you didn't think I'd leave you hanging, did you?)

It doesn't matter if the word verification is on, so long as Comment Moderations is set at "Never." Please, for the love of the blogging community, turn the comment moderation off!

• Sponsor Integrity

I love sponsor swapping with like minded bloggers. I have met a few great people that way. My pet peeve is when someone asks you to swap but doesn't read your blog, or offers a teeny tiny spot in exchange for your large space, or says they are putting up your button, but never do. Have some integrity!

Please read (& enjoy) my blog if you are going to swap with me. I read every blog on my sponsor list, and I comment regularly because I'm genuinely interested in what you have to say and think others might like your blog too.

*p.s. I tidied up my sponsor section today, if you'd like to be considered for the rest of April please send me an email. For the sake of my own integrity, I'm only going to share buttons of like minded bloggers who are active followers of my blog. {check out Kate's awesome post on this topic!}

• Daily Link Ups

There is nothing wrong with a weekly feature or two, but when everyday is a link up it gets old quickly. Sunday Confessions, Wordless Wednesday, Thursday Thirteen, Friday Fancies.. The thing I love most about reading blogs is getting to know other people. It's sort of like reality TV. When I read the same things over and over, it bums me out. Be original! Tell me a story about your day or week. That's the reason I read, not to see some fantasy outfit that neither of us can afford.

• Display Fonts

Please, make the main text of your blog a readable, clear, reasonably large font. {do I need to say neutral color? or is it obvious?} No one wants to read your blog if it is written in a hot pink cursive font at size 10 (or 16 for that matter). There is a reason Verdana, Arial, and Georgia exist: they are readable. Please, have all the fun you want with your header & sidebar titles. Even your block quotes. But make your blog text plain & readable!

New Year, New Look

I've been secretly working on an update for my blog design for the last few weeks. I did about 75% of it in one night, including getting it live on a test-site, and then took my sweet time finishing the last bit. Some new things I picked up along the way were:

• making social networking icons that light up when your mouse hovers over them
• putting social networking icons in the header
• adding a drop down menu in blogger
• installing Disqus & LinkWithin {super easy btw}
• styling cool bullet points

And also, figuring out how to style block quotes so they turn out something like this:

Find something you are passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.  ~ Julia Child

Everyday I'm learning new things about blogging and graphic design. In the blink of an eye, 2 or 3 hours will pass while I'm working in photoshop or playing with code. I even bought some super geeky books while I was at home: CSS: The Missing Manual and Smashing Wordpress. And by geeky, I mean the pages are filled with codes that are starting to make sense in my brain.

Blog Party!

I've been having a lot of fun learning more about blog design this week.  Clare and I worked together to create a fabulous new header for her blog C Squared.

It's especially fitting that she came up with the byline "mustaches & other musings" on the same day she posted a picture of her husband sporting a new flavor saver. 

Heidi and I have also been working on her blog, which I'll be sure to share once it's finished.  In the meantime, take a few minutes and explore my new Priceless Adventure design!  It is still a work in progress, but I'm happy with the changes so far.  Let me know if links aren't working for you, or if there's any problems on your end. 

Spring 2011

I made this awesome collage for free with Photovisi.  You can check out my review of the web app here.

GLPs

I realize this may be old, but has anyone seen this video? The text moves quickly, but is really powerful.
 

I've spent hours the last few weeks looking into Social Action - Global Learning Projects (GLP).  Not that this video is a GLP, but I'm going to have to create one of my own very soon and I'm starting to get nervous.

Sure, I could make something somewhat easy but it would probably turn out pretty lame [like this] which has a good message and all, but is poorly presented.

I want to make a project that is:

1) meaningful 

2) intelligent   

3) simple        

and 

4) beautiful.    

I need to have at least 3 classrooms participating in whatever project I create before I can graduate (eek!).  It doesn't have to, but I'd like it to have a social action emphasis.  I want it to be relatively simple, so teachers can easily participate without too much preparation or time.  I'm leaning towards something techy and artistic.. but can't figure out WHAT I'm actually going to do, yet.  Any ideas? 

Font-a-licious!

My absolute favorite place to get free fonts is kevinandamanda.com.  They have incredible handwriting fonts and scrapbooking fonts.  She will even make your handwriting into a font, for free!  Installing fonts is super easy, and something you shouldn't be afraid of.  Here are some directions.  My next step is going to be change the fonts for my blog titles, which Amanda gives instructions for here.  And last but not least, here are some of the fonts I downloaded today. 

   

Go Get Em!

Semester 2

Chris and I are both in our Second Semesters here on the island.  He, in Medical School and, I, in EdTech.  No contest, his school is way more difficult and important.  Nevertheless, I thought I'd share my latest project with y'all.

Design

My latest blog creation!  Stinking cute, right?

Babysitting in Dominica

Dear Diary,

Today I got up when I felt like it, and then checked my email and facebook.  Then I talked with Kristen on Skype.  I heart the fact that I can video chat with her even though she lives in Egypt and I live in Dominica.

Then I made some mac-n-cheese for lunch for Chris and I.  If someone would have told me that I'd eat mac-n-cheese once a week here, I would have laughed in their face.  My standards for an acceptable lunch have dropped dramatically in the last 2 months.

After lunch, I sat and watched Harry Potter while updating the RSO website.  Would you like to see it?  http://rossmedspouses.wordpress.com/
I updated the About RSO page, and the Sponsorship page.  It's my new duty as website director of RSO.

Then I went to Erin's house to do hair for the big 4th semester banquet.  I made Carolyn pretty and drank mimosas.  It was wonderful girl time.

On my way home I got a phone call from a 4th semester student who is here with her daughter.  Her daughter was sick, and couldn't go to the banquet.  She wanted to know if I could come right then and babysit.  I'm a sucker for helping people.  I said yes.

So now I'm here babysitting.  I put lovely little Clara to sleep over an hour ago, and have been spending my time making a new blog layout for SpacyStacy.  It's quite fun for me.  I'd be happy to do other people's blogs too.

I've still gotta make the header.  And perfect it.  Also, you have to imagine the background with about an inch less green on both sides.  I've learned that you have to make the layouts extra wide for the people who are lucky enough to have those really nice extra wide flatscreen monitors.  The rest of us see about 20% less of the green.  Anyways... this is how I spend my time.