note to self: i got it right, this time. first the Photoshop book, check. then the CSS book, then the Dreamweaver book. because the DW book goes into CSS code as if you know it. and if you don't, you are lost. which is where i found myself today. so now i'm reading them in the right order. but my head is going explody from the code learning. but i have determined i can do everything i want to do in CSS, i don't need to deal with Flash or Spry or Java. this makes me feel better. it means i can finish my site without a big delay. one book. maybe two, is all i have to read. a week or so.
i'm all off my time table for this month. i was supposed to be finished editing by now. i'm not. i am, however, 1/3 of the way through making a new site. i know i just redid my site, but it was a quick thing i just threw up there. it isn't the final finished representation of me.
and as i do this, i need to be thinking of Kelli's site. i'll surf around her current site tonight and start figuring out a map and menu system. i have a feeling i'm going to be asking her to do some work on this. categorizing and sorting her work. i can't do that. only she can. once it's sorted, i can get it put up in a nice way, though.
i can't express the panic i experienced while reading the DW book tonight on Spry and getting lost. i was drowning in techno speak that i just didn't grasp. it was ugly. i got really hopeless. i kept thinking, any dork with Wordpress can do what i am trying to do, all i want to do is code it myself so i can have full control. this means i have to understand the instructions, not just follow them. i'll do my site step by step, but i want to do Kelli's by my own knowledge. i want a firm grasp on it. or just a grasp. i have the books and the web to look up what i need if i get stuck.
i played with manipulating stock photos today. fun, but not as rewarding as doing something i did myself. the manipulation is just part of it. and really, the history of the picture and the story i'm trying to tell with it determines what i will do to a photo. the cat photos get simple levels correction and depth of field treatment. the plainer stuff, like the scooter or the truck or the flowers, get something more intense and time consuming.
in the mean time, i have been spending no time outside, so i have no new pictures to play with. it's supposed to be 72 tomorrow. i think i'll set up outside on the patio for the day and enjoy the fresh air. then i can hang out with the cats and take pictures. and i want to take some pictures of the house and vintage them up. because the house is old. well, it was built in '77. that's old for around here. if you go downtown, you'll find stuff built in the 50's, but that's about it. everything else gets torn down. but not our neighborhood. it was one of the first out here in suburbia beyond Wayne Newton's spread. that's why our trees are so big. in fact, our pine tree out back is the tallest tree in the neighborhood. big trees are hard to find here. medium trees are most common because they transplant them when they are mature, but the big ones, that doesn't happen often around here.
today was a bad coffee day. i had four cups, all told. though i only slept for four hours. i was up a lot but managed to keep the coffee and cigarettes down to a minimum. now that i don't smoke where i sit in the living room, i smoke much less often. i smoke a lot in the summer because i am outside a lot. i did manage to get a gallon of water consumed. i had cheese sticks and later a grilled cheese sandwich.
it feels like it's doing some good, simply because my monthly bloat has just gone away. so, talk about the illusion of instant gratification. i got it. next weekend i plan on ordering a size 12 pair of skinny jeans and they had better be a little roomy when they get here. i'm also ordering the wifi router, finally. i had no idea they were so cheap. i thought they were $100 or so, and that's why we haven't got one. no, they are $30. so there really is no reason why we don't have one. so, next weekend. oh, and the bras i found, need to order those. my tits are getting used to flying free, they are getting dangerous.
the jeans should fit me, i wear a size 32" waist boy's jeans. i just can't button the top button. i have muffin top like you wouldn't believe. it's more like loaf-top. a big ol' loaf of bread. spare tire, nothing. spare monster tire. my butt and thighs are still thin, it's just my middle that has expanded.
the dog is whining, i guess i should let him out before he piddles on the carpet.
backk to studying. i've gone on so much about this site, it had better be good when i finally put it up.