Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Homecoming Schmomecoming!!

So, notice anything different?  HA!  It's my new blog "makeover," what do you think?  When I first started this blog back in September, I was so overwhelmed and nervous about the WRITING aspect that I paid very little attention to the actual layout of it.  I simply picked a template from one of the few, simple options offered when starting up on Google and forged ahead.  I didn't really give it any more thought until I started visiting other blogs and noticed how visually appealing they were.  Some of them were quite beautiful, indeed.

Since I am far, far (better add one more), FAR from what you'd call "computer savvy," I resisted for a while, assuming such awesomeness was beyond my ability.  But then I once again consulted the ever-helpful Kelly of Kellyansapansa who sent me to a few "free blog template" sites, and that's where I found this one!  I love it for a plethora of reasons:  the expression on the woman's face, her cute pearl necklace and daisy earrings, and the sweet daisies emerging from her computer, indicating that what she is writing is refreshing and lovely!!  The wood paneling is a subtle nod to my dad, the carpenter, who's quirky quote I pay homage to in my title!  There are still a few glitches to work through, but overall I must say I'm quite pleased with my new look!

I must confess, though, the process of actually INSERTING the template into my existing blog was excruciating!  It involved me showing Alan the template I wanted, then handing him my laptop!  Oh, the agony!  I then had to sit next to him while he changed font colors, font sizes, and added something called "widgets."  My job was to nervously wring my hands as he performed the appropriate clicks and drags that made the magic happen.

I was a wreck!!  I kept imagining him technically zigging when he should have zagged, and suddenly my entire five months' worth of writing would be dislodged, sent adrift somewhere in cyberspace, never to be seen again.  I mean, can you imagine not being able to read about my awesome skort collection or the carefree maneuvers of a dancing Asian woman in an Irish pub in Vegas?  Inconceivable, I know!

However, my STUD of a husband once more prevailed, my stories are safe, and I have a new look!  I feel like I've just left a hair salon with a fresh new cut and style!  Fabulous, Dahling!!  Hope you like it too.

OK, enough self-praising -- I need to get to my writing topic for today (after all, you NEVER know when my writing teacher will once again decide to check up on my "Naked Blog!").  I actually have more news, but I must preface it with this:

When I was in high school, I wanted desperately to be chosen to be Homecoming Queen.  Who wouldn't, really?  You get escorted onto the football field before the Homecoming game, and if your name is announced out of the five finalists, they give you a crown and a bouquet of roses!  Then, you get to wave to everyone in the stands whilst sitting on the back of a slowly moving convertible, on which is draped a banner displaying your name and new royal title.  The next night, you don your new crown and attend the Homecoming Dance, of which you are the main focus, and you dance with your date while the Homecoming Dance theme is played (In my day it was usually something by Styxx or Aerosmith).  Hundreds of photos of you are snapped for the yearbook and local papers.  Sigh!

Here's my only problem:  I was in choir, band (marching and concert), and drama.  That's pretty much the "Trifecta of  Geekdom" at most schools, mine was no exception.  I had a FANTASTIC time being a member of all three of these groups, but I was most certainly NOT popular, and definitely not "Homecoming Queen-worthy."


But my friend, the beautiful, skinny, golden-haired, blue-eyed Debbie, WAS!!  She was one of the finalists that was to take the football field that cold October evening back in 1981.  Debbie wasn't sure what to wear for the crowning ceremony, so I lent her my rust, silk ruffle blouse --it looked GORGEOUS on her!  And guess what?  Debbie GOT it!!  She was crowned, handed her roses, had her picture taken for posterity, all while wearing MY blouse!!  If you were to look in the 1982 Nordonia High School yearbook today, you would see that picture of Debbie and her escort on that football field sporting a lovely, shiny, silky, gorgeous top.  I feel like I somehow shared the crown with her that night via that blouse.  Not sure what Debbie would have to say about that, but you and I know the truth, don't we?


Up until very recently, that's about as close as I've ever come to winning anything.  But I've got to tell you, I think even Debbie would be envious that I've just been awarded yet ANOTHER honor from a fellow blogger!!  (I KNOW!!)  Man, this is WAY better than that whole homecoming blouse thing!

I LOVE this one, because it's titled the "Happy 101" Award, given to me by my new friend GregoryJ at living my life, whatever.  He said it's because I'm a blogger that brightens his day!  Don't you just LOVE GregoryJ?  Thanks, Gregory, you have no idea how much you've brightened MINE with this honor!  Yay!!

Ok, rules with this one include listing ten things that make me happy, then tagging ten more bloggers who brighten MY day!  Easy-peasy!!  Let's get right to it:

Ten Things That Make Me Happy:


1.  My husband, Alan.  I know, it's so cliche and I talk about him WAY too much, but I can't discuss happiness without putting him very first on the list.  He's my favorite person. On earth.  Period.  I love EVERY DAY of growing old with him.  I love how he can engage in an intense phone conversation with his CEO, making decisions that directly effect a billion dollar company, then hang up and immediately perform a crazy, silly dance that sends Trixie into a barking, sprinting frenzy that can only be quelled with a climactic "toilet flush of joy."  Which leads me to my next pick...


2.  My pets.  I love how Trixie the terrier, Vegas the cockatiel, and Cleveland the canary all posses such wonderfully weird personalities.  To say they make me happy is a supreme understatement.
3.  Sir Mix-a-Lot's song, "Baby Got Back."  I know, it can get a little R-rated, but I LOVE how it applauds all women who aren't a size two, and calls us beautiful and sexy!  When I was training for a half-marathon, this was my FAVORITE song with which to run.  Only problem was that it made me want to dance, which kind of threw-off my running cadence a bit, but TOTALLY worth it!!  Incidentally, I don't actually posses a lot of "back," just enormous thighs.  But until Sir Mix-a-Lot produces a song titled "Baby Got Tree Trunks," this one will do just fine! 

4.  Football.  I love EVERYTHING about football.  My favorite may be the exhilaration of watching the ball being released from the quarterback's hand in an amazingly beautiful, long, arched pass attempt.  The camera will follow the ball, then pan down to show the receiver, in full stride.  Then the receiver reaches to catch it and runs into the end zone. The crowd goes wild.  Pure. Bliss.  My team, the Cleveland Browns, will make it to the Super Bowl someday and THAT will make me very, very happy indeed!!


5.  Eating at McDonald's.  I know it's terrible for you and I only eat there once a month, if that, but I LOVE it!  I think it has something to do with the fact that when we were kids, going to eat at "The Golden Arches" was a huge, big deal.  The "specialness" of it all has never worn off, I guess!


6.  Volunteering.  I had no idea that giving such a TINY piece of my time could evoke such  enormous joy and sense of fulfillment in me.  I'm completely hooked.

7.  The flavors of chocolate and mint combined.  Mmmmmm.  Do I really need to say more?

8.  Being the recipient of flowers delivered to your home or office.  Seriously, is there anything sweeter than that FTD man strolling up to your desk, carrying that vase covered in green tissue paper?  Complete, pure joy!!!

9.  Watching snow fall.  There's just nothing prettier.  After living in Florida for sixteen years, now that I'm back up north, I just can't get enough of it, driveway shoveling and all!

10.  People who comment on my posts and become followers of my blog.  Quite honestly, whenever I turn on my computer in the morning and see that the number has increased under the "Followers" column, I literally squeal with delight!  And the comments make me wish I could reach into the cyberworld and give you all a big squeeze!! (That didn't sound creepy at all, did it?)

Well, there you have it!  Now, I must tag ten more blogs that bring me joy.  This is an impossible task, because I've visited so many astoundingly fantastic blogs over the last few weeks.  I'm going to go with these, but know there are literally dozens more that make me BLISSFULLY happy!  Please check out the "Blogs I'm Following" section of my profile to see the full list!  Here's ten of them:


AdobeOneThree
Bossy Betty
A Nut in a Nutshell
Scatter Sunshine
Straight Up -- No Chaser
Picture Imperfect
Wander With Wild Things
Bon Bon Rose
Sugar Shop
The Old Geezer Blog


Congrats, and happiness to you all!  OK, that's enough for now.  Think I'll go make myself a Euphoria Crown, grab Alan, and slow dance to Styxx!!

Thanks for Reading!!

46 comments:

JenJen said...

love the new look!

Daisymum said...

I love daisies and Baby got Back, especially when Barry sings it!!

Bossy Betty said...

Forget the flowers, baby! You made me happy by including my blog on your list. I, fellow band/drama nerd, shall wear my imaginary crown around my house all day. Can you see me waving to you from my imaginary convertible as well?

Thanks again!

PinkPatentMaryJanes said...

So happy to have discovered your blog -glad to hear there's someone else who'll bust out the moves while exercising...

Bob West said...

I enjoyed visiting your blog. I wish i had the courage to update mine.
God Bless
http://westbob.blogspot.com/2010/02/philippians-46-9-be-anxious-for-nothing.html

Liz in Virginia said...

Thanks for visiting my blog today -- I'm glad I discovered yours!

Here's hoping we don't both get too buried in snow!

Liz at twenty-firstcenturyhousewife.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

Wow. This is a free template?! It's gorgeous! Very very nice layout.

Anything Fits A Naked Man said...

Thanks for the kind comments on the new look, everybody! I'm a little frustrated that the font is so tiny, but every time we try to fix it, we end up sending everything askew. We'll try again in the morning! In the meantime, who needs to borrow my reading glasses?!!

Anonymous said...

The new look is great. I really like the woodgrain.

And your happy things are really nice; some of them make me happy, too.

Thanks for the mention, picking the people for this award was fun and easy. Such obvious choices.

Andi said...

Love the makeover, looks great! I like the top 10 list, I don't think it is cliche to start with your hubby, I would as well. Our partner is the second most important person in our lives after ourselves - not regret it, celebrate it!

Shana Putnam said...

Thank you so much for coming by and for following my blog!! That is so awesome. I love your blog. The layout is great. Love the wood paneling look. I also love birds so I was thrilled to see your post. Cleveland Brown is gorgeous. I love to hear Canaries sing. I am your newest follower. See you soon!

Holly Lefevre said...

I like the new look! Happy award day! The way you talk about your husband is so sweet...it makes my heart melt. But then you go on to Baby Got back and I have a horrible image of my brother singing that song at a high school dance...and I am done! Yum for mint and chocolate!

Unknown said...

Sooooo much fun to read! I never knew Debbie was wearing your blouse in that picture! :D

Anonymous said...

The font's fine, the blog's beautiful and the sentiment in this posting is charming.

Thank you so much for tagging me. You only stumbled across me recently and I'm touched that you've stuck around and glad that you found something to read there. :)

tattytiara said...

Haha, yes indeed, the blog does look great. Congrats on the award, and that's a gorgeous photo of you and your husband (and of your blouse).

Margaret (Peggy or Peg too) said...

Hey thank you for the nod. As you can see by the time stamp I'm a bit weary and this was such a nice gesture to perk me up! It made my week - hell month.

LOVE the new layout. Funny thing is that I just found those templates. Too many choices! But sadly I don't have an Alan to assist with making the change and for some reason I am finding it daunting. I particularly like these colors.

Melissa {Suger} said...

Congrats on the award and what a cool, thoughtful response.

Mostly wanted to say... LOVE THE LOOK... it's awesome. Love it, love it, love it. Love. It.

Phew. Glad I got that out!

Helen said...

McDonalds was always a super special treat for me as a child too! The novelty's not worn off for me yet either. Although I'm doing Slimming World for the foreseeable future so my trips to McD's will have to be very rare indeed.

Unknown said...

I love your new look, it's beautiful! Alan is such a STUD isn't he? LOL I'm so happy to hear about how much you love your hubby - it's heartwarming!

Thank you for the shout-out! It's flagged and I will participate when my head stops spinning with Mexico updates. ;o)

Anonymous said...

"Plethora" is actually one of my favorite words. Great job working it into paragraph 2! (Love the new look, BTW)

Krista said...

I was right with you on #4 until the last sentence. I like Kickoff....the way the ball turns end over end....arching across the field...hmmm...


Oh yeah...GO STEELERS!!

Dr Zibbs said...

I'm like that with Burger King. Every once in a while I need a double chee.

Sassy Pants Freckle Face said...

I love your blog and your Hair my God it ROCKS!!!!!

Cheers to looking Irish <3

Looking forward to reading more of you!

rxBambi said...

I love baby got back! sometimes I sing it in the pharmacy just to make the techs laugh. Or my teenagers for that matter.

thanks so much for coming by my blog and saying hi. I just followed you.. are you squealing yet?

citymouse said...

Changing your template is a scary thing. I did mine recently did was so tickled that I just wanted to leave my blog up on my laptop all day to admire it!

I remember Homecoming 1981 (but at Colonel Richardson HS). I do believe Styx was in heavy rotation, along with Lynard Skynard. Too funny.

Gucci Mama said...

I love your look! My husband did mine too, after I told him what I wanted and supplied him with beer and chips. He's easy to bribe.

The homecoming picture? Was there even a girl in there? All I could see was this AMAZING blouse that shined like the sun and made me forget all my cares. It was glorious. I think I'm going to go look at it again.

;)

Dana said...

WOW!!!! Look at the COMMENTS!!!! LOVE THE NEW LOOK. Wonderful post as usual. :D

2 kids...3 martinis said...

Love the new look; love that you used the word, "plethora" (a highly under-used word, IMHO); and love that you mentioned "Baby got back"---the best.song.ever.
:)

Kimberly@PrettyPinkMomma said...

What a cute blog you have! Thanks for introducing me to it! I agree, Baby Got Back is one of the top ten greatest songs of all time - "Oh my God Becky!"

Kimberly@PrettyPinkMomma said...

Oh yeah! I just became your 100th follower! Woot woot!

Christina said...

Thanks for visiting my blog! Love the name of yours!! Following you now!

lifeshighway said...

I love the new look, it give you an adrenaline jolt of happiness.

Kat said...

Nice look! My daughter loves to play with HTML and it is not unusual for me to log onto my blog and find it completely different from the day before. It's like getting a new outfit.

Yankee Girl said...

Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream is my fave. I seriously could not live without it!

Congrats on the award!

Rachel said...

I love blog makeovers! And I am downright terrified of doing mine, ha ha. Love that you took the plunge with such great results!

Thanks for the comment on our blog (I laughed out loud picturing the old gassy horses you were stuck with) - so nice to "meet" you!

Looking forward to catching up on more posts!

eventer79 said...

Aw, thanks so much for the shout! I am quite enjoying your stories -- that canary one made me want a canary so bad and I don't even get along with pet birds! Right after the vision of me sitting in my living room listening to canary song was an equal vision of birdcage on floor with two cats shoving their paws through the bars. :-(

BTW, the new layout looks great; not rocket science after all, eh?

Insanitykim said...

Hellooooooo!

Congrats on the blog award! Great post (I can relate and share in many items on your happy list!), and the efforts to get this template working was well worth it! :)

Thanks for stopping by my blog and being willing to follow my insanity! See you soon in bloggyworld!! :)

So Now What? said...

Hey my newest follower, I am now yours! I've gone over my internet limit (well I think maybe it was the 10yo) so have to wait 2 days til I can have a good look but will be back. Looks wonderful x

Julie Leah said...

Thank you so much for following! I hope you've enjoyed reading so far! Have a wonderful evening!

Being Me said...

Hello! Thanks for visiting my little ol' blog and following (it takes me a while to get around to meandering over to new followers and I am put to shame when I see you have almost double the amount I have!).

I love your blog layout and congrats on your acknowledgement by way of the award... Much better, on a global scale, than mere Homecoming Queen, surely ;) Hope to see you again.

Mercy said...

I was attracted to your blog because of the cute template, and I think I will read it more. I have to agree with you about the chocolate and mint. My favorite combo.

Delia said...

Nice blog. I love the design and content. I am a new follower and look forward to reading more!

Anonymous said...

Your new blog looks GREAT!! :-)

I'm very computer savvy but I would trade all my computer 'know how' to be able to write like you.

I barely made it out of high school and my writing skills are definitely lacking. I type like a snail and if it wasn't for spell check I would be in big trouble.

Sometimes it ain't easy being The Old Geezer

God has truly blessed you with the gift of being able to put your thoughts down on paper or should I say
Microsoft Word or what ever you use.

I look forward to following your blog
God bless you, Ron

polkadot said...

never saw the old look but this one agrees with me ;)

[Rhiannon][Wretchdz] said...

Watching snow fall would be on my top ten if it snowed in Australia.

Iva Messy said...

Congratulations on your award!!

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