The first one of the 52 Things is one I did in the last few weeks of 2009. It’s:
#30. Redo webpage with WordPress
I’ve had this blog for 10 years. When I first started, the only blogging software was Blogger (this was way before Google bought them) and I used it for a while but then decided I didn’t like it. So I wrote my own code and created my website and for the last ten years, I’ve been maintaining it and updating it. It’s a lot of time-consuming work and if I want a feature (like “let me reply to comments”) I have to code it myself. This can get old really quickly. I was also getting a lot of comment spam and didn’t want to write my own code to battle it.
I’ve been meaning to move to hosted WordPress for several years but I wanted to do it right. I wanted to be able to move all my previous posts and comments and several other features I wanted. I also wanted my side pane back (I’d changed my blog to a single column during the last design about a year ago.) so I’ve spent the better part of the last three weeks doing this webpage.
For those of you who care about the details: It’s using the Atahualpa theme and I’ve customized it quite a bit. I have several plugins installed but the ones I am using most actively are:
- Akismet(for spam)
- Broken Link Checker
- Extended Category Widget(so I can exclude some categories on the side panel)
- FeedBurner FeedSmith (so I can use FeedBurner for my RSS feed)
- Flickr Manager (so I can post from WP to Flickr)
- Inline Ajax Comments (I hacked this plugin a lot so you can leave quick comments from the main page)
- ReplyMe (this emails you when I reply to one of your comments)
- Sociable (This allows you to send my post to a social network of your choice)
- Tumblr Recent Photos Widget (This is how I display the inspiration section on the side panel)
- WordPress.com Stats
- WordPress Database Backup (just in case)
- WP to Twitter (this posts my posts to my twitter stream)
There were a few features on my old webpage which WP doesn’t do elegantly. For example, I wanted to be able to display my tags so you could look at all of them as photos and click on the one you like to see the post. But I didn’t want to upload the photos several times or make a gallery. This took A LOT of hacking but I finally got it to work. Here’s an example. It doesn’t look perfect but it’s pretty close to what I wanted so I am happy with it for now.
That’s about it, I think.
There are still many many things I haven’t done and I will likely tinker with it for the next few months but the large, daunting task is done and I am pretty pleased. I hope you are, too.
I snapped a photo of these at today’s play group. You know how I love tulips. Here’s one of Nathaniel at the play group, too.
Uneventful day yet I still feel wiped and overwhelmed. Who knows what it’s all about. Nathaniel did sleep better last night, thank God. Not much to report from today. I am looking forward to the weekend and I plan to take it easy. I think my body and heart both need that.
Note to Self:
I go around and around and always end up here. Validation. Feedback. Why is it something I need so much? Do I think that other people liking me makes me a better person? If they love me, will I also love me? Of course, not. It all starts with me. Gotta remember that better. How do I find a way to remember that?
I’ve been a bit behind in my catalysts. I want to make them but I’ve been too tired to sit and do art. I am not feeling inspired. I question my ability to create anything worthy. Whatever that means. Tonight I told myself that maybe I should just do some digital pages. For me, that’s almost like I’m cheating. Doing them for the sake of doing them. But then I remember it’s more about “Therapy” than “art.” If I also get to create beautiful art, that’s wonderful, but not if it gets in the way of the therapy. Just like the weekly gratitude. The goal is to get the stories down. The words. Those are the magic for me. The words. Gotta remember.
Three things I’m grateful for today:
1. The man who fixed our back door. The door that opens from the living room to the back yard has been broken for two weeks now. I use that door twenty times a day, so it’s been really frustrating not to have it. I tend to take these kinds of situations and let them really really get me worked up. So I’ve been carrying this around for over ten days. When it finally got fixed (we hope!) today, it was a big relief. I can now put all this frustration down.
2. Nathaniel’s baby group. While I’m still apprehensive and shy around the women, I love that Nathaniel has someone to play with once a week for an hour. He doesn’t get it yet but still, it’s good for him to play with other little babies, wander around in someone else’s house. I love that he has that.
3. Simple yet entertaining movies. I’ve been brain-dead for a few days now. I have read a little but I’ve mostly been watching movies. I’ve watched 500 Days of Summer, Post-Grad, All About Steve, and now Julie and Julia. None of them were masterpieces but I loved them all. I loved the little bit of relaxation they gave my soul.
January’s theme is Work.
Here’s my page:
The journaling reads:
Google has multiple award systems. But the one I like the most is called a “peer bonus.” It’s an award that one employee can give another employee for doing something above and beyond. It can be something small or big, as long as it made a significant impact on the nominator’s work. The award itself isn’t a huge amount, but, for me, it’s a great privilege to receive one.
While I appreciate being recognized by the managers for large accomplishments as much as the next person, there’s something special about having one of your peers recognize you for something small but impactful. Google is a large company, small things could easily go unnoticed every day. And yet, the peer bonus system gives each employee a way to appreciate another and make sure the extra effort was recognized.
I love the fact that Google has created such a system so that employees can officially show gratitude towards each other.
This morning started out very very rough. Nathaniel has not been sleeping well and even when he sleeps, I have not been sleeping. Maybe nerves, or stuff on my mind. Who knows? All I know is that I am not getting enough sleep. This morning I was in so much pain, I wanted to cry. I literally had to drag myself out of bed to take David to school. I was functioning below average all day and felt like I was in a daze. More like I was slapped all night long.
Nathaniel decided to skip his morning nap, too. Which made things that much more stressful and tiring. I guess that’s what I guess for telling the universe that his naps have been going well. I still forced myself to drive slowly when I went to pickup David though. Especially in my less-than-aware state, I didn’t want to risk getting into any accidents.
By mid-afternoon I was feeling 15% better. Nathaniel has learned how to climb on top of things to get to where he needs to be. Can’t say the boy isn’t resourceful. And he loves walking over to David’s table and patting on it while David eats. Look at my boy eating those veggies he hates so much.
And here’s one of the big boy, lest you think I neglect him. He’s so beautiful, it takes my breath away. He’s been so good this last year. Between my tough pregnancy and the many many sleepless nights I’ve now had, I’ve been much grouchier than usual but my boy has been strong and kind to me. He even said today “Don’t worry Mommy tomorrow is a new day.” How do you not love that boy?
Oh and I should mention there was an earthquake today, around 10:13or so. I was in the living room, feeding Nathaniel. It was quite small but creepy nonetheless.
Here’s to hoping I get some sleep tonight or I might just break.
Note to Self:
I’m normally a very type-A person. I rush from one place to another. I speak super-fast. I am demanding and annoying and tend to get my way. Persistent is the nice word for it. But today I was just the opposite. I was so tired that I just didn’t have the fight in me. I did most everything slowly, more deliberately because I needed the extra effort to focus. I gave in more quickly and decided it just wasn’t worth the energy to try and resolve certain things so they were the way I wanted them. At some point in the day, I wondered how my life would be if I just were this kind of person. If I did things more slowly, more deliberately, not just to get them done. And if I just didn’t fight/stress/worry over the details and try to get my way. If I just accepted things, went with the flow. How would life be? How would I be?
I’m not sure to be honest. There are good things about my being so type-A. It’s one of my strong suits. I get stuff done. Ask any of my managers and they’ll say it’s what makes me great at my job. I am reliable. I am organized. I make sure our family’s needs get met and stuff is in order, etc. etc. I have many weaknesses but this is more of a strength generally. But sometimes I wonder how my life would be if I relaxed more. Worried less. Got less done. Who knows?
Three things I’m grateful for today:
1. We booked a short vacation today. In a ski resort. With some friends. I am a bit apprehensive about it. But also really grateful and looking forward to it. Last time we went on vacation with friends was over ten years ago.
2. I grew up in a place where labor is cheap and it’s common to have help. We had a maid and a driver, etc. But I am really uncomfortable with all that now. It’s one of the reasons I don’t have anyone helping with Nathaniel while I work. I don’t like being served. I know this says something about me but I am too tired to analyze it now. The one indulgence we do have is a cleaning lady who comes every other week. And even though I always dread the day she comes, I am always so happy when she’s cleaned our place. We’ve been pretty neat in this house but it’s still a magical feeling when she leaves and my house is sparkling. So I am really grateful for her.
3. I was thinking today how grateful I am for all of you who come visit me here and leave me kind comments. For most of you I’m a practical stranger who posts about her kids and random stuff and yet you come, you say hi, you make my day. Thank you. I can not put into words how much your words mean to me.
 A few months ago, I decided it would be fun for David and me to listen to Harry Potter while I drive him to school and back. And then I realized it would also be fun for me to listen to something else when I’ve dropped David off and am driving back home with Nathaniel.
I started with SuperFreakanomics. I’d read Freakanomics and liked it and so figured this would be a good one for the car.
And it was.
I enjoyed the topics presented, the simplicity with which complicated ideas were explained and it did make me think a lot. Like the first one, I didn’t think it was amazing. But a perfect book for the car.
This week’s download is some vertical school overlays. Here is what they look like:
You can download it here: school vertical overlays download.
You are welcome to play with these as much as you want and use them anywhere you’d like. You are NOT allowed to sell them ever. You don’t have to but I’d appreciate a link back if you do use them.
This is part of a weekly digital download series. They are posted every Thursday. You can find all of the ones that were posted here. If you like my downloads, please click here and give me ideas/requests for 2010. I would like to continue this feature but I am not sure I can come up with enough ideas on my own.
And finally a not-so-terrible day! Not that it was fantastic mind you, but I felt more relaxed, less rushed, and more at peace today in general. I did have a doctor’s appointment and had to wait for an hour before I was told the doctor was sick and I had to reschedule for February. Fun! But otherwise, the day we more productive than it’s been lately. And I’ve been feeling less hurried.
Though, it was a bad-photo day. I snapped this one of David playing the Wii while Nathaniel watched (and ate the remotes)
And a B/W of the little boy. But I am not a big fan of either photo. What can you do? Some days are like that.
And I finally booked my hotel for CHA. Yey. Third year in a row.
Note to Self:
I’ve been driving more slowly, more mindfully lately. I always worry about getting David to school on time, picking him up on time, not letting Nathaniel fall asleep in the car. And I fid myself rushing all the time. But for the last three days, I’ve been slowing down, not passing cars that are a bit slow and just reminding myself that it’s ok if I am three minutes late. As it turns out, I am never late and I make it there in about the same time I would have if I rushed. Yet, I feel so much calmer and more peaceful.
Three things I’m grateful for today:
1. A nice and motivating conversation with my friend Lori. Lori’s awesome and she always knows how to say the right thing when I need to hear it. Thank you for always cheering me on, Lori.
2. Kindness of others. I had to do some technical changes at work quickly and people have gone out of their way to help me. I love it when people are responsive and on the ball. (Especially when I’m having the opposite experience on a situation about my home.)
3. Nathaniel’s naps been relatively well aligned with David’s school. This is something that really stresses me usually but it’s been working smoothly so far and I am utterly grateful to not have to sit in the car while he sleeps and to get a few hours of uninterrupted work while he naps.
Catalyst Ninety-Five is: What’s something you struggle with?.
I made a list of all the things I would like to do. I constantly struggle with choosing which thing to do, to learn. I want them all. I made a list and printed it as my background.
Here’s what’s in the list: Teach David how to read. Learn Russian. Get a PhD. Study Mathematics. Learn to sew. Learn to crochet. Drive fearlessly. Visit Antarctica. Ride on a hot air ballon. Write a novel. Write another novel. Learn to ballroom dance. Learn to draw. Really well. Play the saxophone. Read. read. read. a lot. Learn Hebrew. Visit New Zealand, Australia, and Africa. Pet a penguin. Master web design. Teach Nathaniel to read. Teach both my kids math. Spend oodles of family time together laughing and hugging and playing. See the Northern Lights in Alaska. Drive across the country again. See all of the states. Go camping. Write a product that I am really proud of and one that becomes popular. Learn to quilt and make a huge quilt for our bed. Get my coaching license. Learn to ride a bike. Make beautiful art journals. Teach courses. Let go. Journal every day. Run a marathon. Cook more and better. Start my own non-profit. Run a non-profit bookstore. Embrace imperfection. Publish a book with my photography. Take a lot more photographs. Master post-processing. Master photography. Become fluent in Japanese, Italian and French. And Sign Language. Go to an art retreat. Let go. Stop seeking validation. Embrace joy. Make a movie. Create art products. Affect the education system. Let go. Learn to paint. Acrylic. Oil. Learn wood carving and metal smithing. Learn more about physics. Chemistry. Statistics. Become a therapist. Learn to decorate a cake. Master design principles. Have a photo shoot with my family. Read all the classics. Go to the movies. Take daily photos. Make more scrapbook pages. Tell our stories. Tell my parents’ stories. Tell my grandparents’ stories. Collect family photos. Find my own style. Let go. Embrace myself and the way I look. Make lifelong friends. Spend regular time with good friends. Apologize from people I’ve hurt. Donate to charity. Volunteer. Learn to knit in the round and to knit a cable. Change a tire. Make wreaths. Make bread. Take photos of myself everyday for a year. Reach out to family more and connect. Take a trip alone. Watch the sun rise and the sun set on the same day. Bake a pie. Let go. Make a really complicated dish. Walk across the Brooklyn bridge and the Golden Gate bridge. Declutter. Practice kindness towards others and myself. Let go.
Around my house.
Today was a rough day. It didn’t really even have a reason to be. It was a collection of little frustrations but they built up inside me and I couldn’t let it go. I could not relieve the frustration no matter how much I tried and I just felt even more frustrated because of it. It crescendoed into something monumentally terrible. And now I feel spent and worn out and dejected. All over nothing. Over stupid, little, insignificant events occurring simultaneously.
My most tender moment came when Nathaniel woke up from his long afternoon nap. I saw his face and my whole being felt a rush of gratitude. I love him so deeply and I am so thankful for my life. I need to learn to focus on the good. I have so much of the good. So so much.
He’s so beautiful. So sweet. So kind. So cute. So loved. His brother, too. So magical.
Happy to be done with today. Tomorrow is another day and it starts fresh.
Note to Self:
I need to learn to let go. Things don’t have to get done immediately. Many of the small things that I obsess over don’t actually matter. They don’t. They certainly don’t deserve to own my life and take over my emotions and mental state like they did today. Life is beautiful. Even when the moment seems challenging. It’s ok to have challenging moments. To accept them for what they are and then to let them go. To be open to something better. Let go and breathe. I need to breathe more. More often. Longer. Breathe.
Three things I’m grateful for today:
1. A new and much anticipated book arrived in the mail today. I am really looking forward to reading it.
2. The group-chat functionality of Google Chat. Four friends chatting about vacation is extra fun when we can do it all at the same time.
3. Heating. It may seem silly but it’s been really cold here and the house we lived in last year had a lot of holes in it so it would never get warm enough. We’d see our breath a lot in the winter. I am thankful that this house is well sealed and has a good heating system and I am so warm and cozy in it.
The following is cross-posted from the Weekly Gratitude Blog. I will post there every Tuesday and decided to post those posts here, too. For those of you who read both blogs, I apologize in advance. Some weeks the content might be different and other weeks, exactly the same.
When Lori and I were planning Weekly Gratitude and what we might want our blog schedule to look like, I thought it might be interesting to have each of us post a little blog post of our thoughts. I know she plans to post sketches and other goodies, but I have no idea what my intention for these posts is. Some weeks it might just be a collection of random thoughts on gratitude. Other weeks, it might be a pep talk. Or a gratitude-related story that happened to me that week. Or something I find inspiring. Or some goodies I made.
I am really not sure yet. While a part of me is itching to create some kind of pattern for these posts (I am a computer programmer, after all), another part of me really wants to make these posts fluid. I want this to be the excuse for me to sit and take a moment each week to jot some thoughts down. To observe my week. To reflect. In my insanely-busy life, I don’t do that nearly as often as I should. So, for now, I am forcing myself not to over-plan these posts.
All this is to say: the quality of these posts might vary wildly from week to week and I apologize in advance for that.
I wanted to start by thanking all of you for taking this journey with us. Committing to a year-long project is a big deal. But I have every reason to believe that you will get more out of this than you put into it. There’s something magical about declaring an intention and doing it in a group. It’s like when you do your daily walks with a friend, you’re way more likely to actually do them than if you’re going at it alone. Think of us as your gratitude-buddies. When you feel like you might give up, leave us a comment, email us, ask for help. We’ll be here to cheer you on. We believe in this project wholeheartedly and we’re committed to it and to you. And your presence makes it easier for us to work on our project, too. So thank you for being here. Thank you for doing this with us.
I know the next few weeks will be easy. All projects start with a high level of enthusiasm and take at least a few weeks to frizzle out. So take advantage of these weeks. Pay extra-close attention to the little things. The “seemingly ordinary” miracles of life. Enjoy the process and take a moment to reflect. Remember this project is about gratitude. It doesn’t matter if your art didn’t turn out the way you had envisioned or hoped, it only matters that you took a moment to express gratitude. Focus on that.
There will be new ones to come but in case you don’t regularly read my blog and haven’t already downloaded these, here are two sets of digital downloads I had made with the theme of gratitude. The first is a set of photo-overlays and the second is a set of journaling spots. Hope you enjoy them.
gratitude overlays
gratitude journaling spots
I want to remind you to please share links to your projects. We would like to regularly highlight your art/words on Wednesdays and if you’re not participating in one of our communities, the only way we can find you is through the comments you leave.
Thank you again for being here with us. Here’s to a year filled with gratitude!
Even though I’m a tulip person I still am awed by a beautiful rose.
It was good to be back into my routine today. Felt right. I tried not to rush through it. Towards the end of the day, it got a bit more hectic than I’d like but overall, it felt good.
I know it’s far from perfect technically and it’s even a bit blurry but what struck me about this photo was how much Nathaniel looks like David in this photo. His face is wider and his eyes bluer. Looks so much like David at that age.
Note to Self:
This is going to sound a bit cryptic and I apologize in advance. But here’s something I learned today: it’s better to join/apply for/try out for something only if I really really want it. And in that case I have to give it 150% of what I have. After that, I might still not get it, but that’s OK. What’s not okay is to try just for the sake of trying. And to try without giving it all I have. Because then, when I don’t get it, it makes me sad when I didn’t necessarily want it in the first place and I also wonder if I didn’t get it cause I didn’t try hard enough.
This applies to all areas of my life, work, personal, friendships, relationships. I need to be more mindful about what I want. Why I want. Create a path to getting it and see if I want to travel that path. If the path is appealing and worth the trouble to get to the destination, then I start walking down it. More mindfully. I do it because I decided I want it. Not cause everyone else is doing it. Not cause it would be cool to have it. Not cause “why not.” It’s not a “why not” it’s a “why so.”
Life is too short and I need to live it more mindfully.
Three things I’m grateful for today:
1. I had the opportunity to help someone whom I believe in today. I am thankful that I had a skill to offer. I am thankful that the person accepted my help (not everyone does). I am thankful for the opportunity to get to feel the joy that comes from having done something nice for someone else without expecting anything in return.
2. I am thankful to be back to our routine. Driving David to school, listening to books on the way, baby napping while I work and coffee with Graham Crackers. These things make me happy. Grateful for my perfectly ordinary life.
3. Grateful for todo lists. I have a lot of little tasks here and there that are piling up and I am thankful for Evernote that keeps all my todo lists in one place and makes sure I don’t drop the ball too much. (Still really behind on email but that’s for another day.)
What I didn’t realize until I sat down to do one of the crafts on our list was that most of these require materials we don’t seem to have at hand. (So while I am good at making lists of ideas, I neglected to make one for supplies. Good job, eh?) One of the only items on the list that had simple supplies was the paper-plate dogs.
The full tutorial from kids craft weekly.
Believe it or not, I didn’t have white paper plates, but I did have some heavy weight paper. So I drew the doggie. (yep, I made him too fat at first but it didn’t matter since we cut it out.)
After I cut it out, we turned it inside out so the drawing lines would not show. We taped the head and the tail. Then I drew an eye and a nose and David colored it in.
We then cut up a tiny bit of gray fabric to make his ears. He was already looking pretty good by then.
The tutorial then has some glue and dirt for the spots. But I had something easier, so I pulled my stickles and drew some circles for David to color in.
And here’s our final product, left to dry overnight.
Looks pretty cute if you ask me.
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projects for twenty twenty-five
projects for twenty twenty-four
projects for twenty twenty-three
projects for twenty twenty-two
projects for twenty twenty-one
projects for twenty nineteen
projects for twenty eighteen
projects from twenty seventeen
monthly projects from previous years
some of my previous projects
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