Tuesday, October 14, 2008

My Monday project

Ok, I said that I was going to report back on my project from yesterday and you're all welcome to laugh at how stupid it was!!

See that little counter to the left? The one that says how long we've been waiting for Clarissa? Yeah, I worked on that for four hours yesterday. Go ahead, we'll take a quick pause while you laugh....

I saw someone else's blog that had an adoption counter on it and I thought it was a cool idea, so I decided to get one for my page. It took me all of five minutes to Google blog counters and I found a ton of them but I didn't like any of them. They all had kind of an obnoxiously loud Myspace look to them and they just didn't look like they would fit my blog decor at all. I'm oddly picky about things like that. I like to design things and I'm ridiculously stubborn about things turning out the way I see them in my head.

So I searched forever and I think I must have looked at every single blog counter on the internet. I had an idea of something really pretty and simple, maybe with a graphic I created behind it, with pretty fonts and colors that matched my blog.

That's when I said to myself "I'm a smart person, surely I can teach myself enough javascript code to create my own!" I do that a lot. I've blogged about my tendency to totally overdo it when I get an idea for a project in my head, and yesterday was no exception. When I decide I'm going to learn to do something I have a hard time giving up when it becomes clear that it's totally over my head!

So I studied the code for other counters I found on the internet and tried to decipher it enough to recreate it. That shouldn't be too hard, right?! Yeah, unfortunately it was harder than it looked. I studied javascript for hours yesterday, I Googled how to guides, and it still doesn't make any sense to me.

So finally by the end of the day I had to admit to myself that one afternoon wasn't enough time to become a Javascript expert. Finally I gave up on it being fancy and just wanted it DONE, so I came up with script from another counter that I could modify just enough to get what you see on my blog. It's so ridiculously boring, I can't even figure out how to change the font or the color! Is there anyone out there who can give me the code to make font and color changes? I have the lamest counter in blogland.

So there's how I spent my quiet Monday afternoon. By the time I was done I had a headache and I was really cranky. When Shawn got home from work I showed him what I spend all day working on (mostly to explain why the unfolded laundry was still sitting in the same place he left it when he went to work!) and he pretended to be very impressed with my efforts. :) I love my husband, he'll cheer me on even when he has absolutely no idea what I'm doing or why.

OH!! And then last night I was on Facebook, which I almost never use, and I came across an old friend who I've been looking for for YEARS! Yay! I love rediscovering old friends. It was a happy ending to a day with way too much javascript. I actually had a dream last night that I was cleaning the house but I had to create some code to get it done and I couldn't figure it out. I think I've officially gone insane.

So while you're on my blog today, be sure to admire the adoption counter. Ohh and Ahhh and be very impressed with how amazingly clever and talented I am. Isn't it the most beautiful counter you've ever seen?!? And if you know how to make it prettier (Mike, that means you), I would be your best friend forever if you would pass your knowledge on to me. :)

1 comment:

Aly said...

Wendy, you crack me up!!! I love your 'inner nerd.'

I'm so excited for you and your family with your adoption journey.