A Breaking Heart, the latest book by Dimple McInvale, will be published by my company, and I'm proud to announce that it's at the printer's, and should be back in time for Christmas. This is Mrs. McInvale's first novel, but it's her third book.
The book tells the story of three women who leave abusive relationships and move into the home of a country couple; the safe home becomes a real home for the three women, and while it relates some bad situations, it's a very hopeful, uplifting book. It's based on real-life events.
If you'd like to read more information about the book, visit the author's website here, or you can go directly to the book's page here.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Thanksgiving thoughts
Well, Thanksgiving has passed for another year. We had all the fixings at MIL's house, and got to see family members we haven't seen in a while; then off to my mom's house, where we had sandwiches, finger foods and a veggie tray, which was a very nice change. It's hard to eat two big meals in a day, especially when you're not used to it.
It was good to see everyone, but we missed a lot of loved ones... hubby's daughter couldn't come because her husband was on call and couldn't leave the base. She's missed seeing him the last two Thanksgivings, so we certainly understood why she wanted to stay home with him. She's a good daughter, mom and wife and we're proud of her. My daughter's family spent the day with her honey's family, so we missed seeing them too, but we understand - it's hard to get everywhere, when there's such an extended family to see.
Hubby's son and his wife came, but their kids were all visiting other relatives, and my older son is back overseas, so we missed about half of our family. It's tough having a blended family, and even more tough during the holidays.
But we have lots to be thankful for - our grandchildren are healthy and happy, they have good parents and good homes, they're intelligent and they're being raised by responsible people.
My husband's mother and both my parents are still living, and they're all in reasonably good health;while they may have problems from time to time, they have a good quality of life, and we all live near enough to see them often.
Hubby and I both enjoy life and have lots of interests to keep up going - besides our immediate family, our church family always has things going on, and of course our riding friends are ALWAYS up to something!
Last but not least, we're thankful that we live in a country where we've got to right to speak our minds, and to believe as we wish, whether it suits someone else or not.
What are YOU thankful for?
It was good to see everyone, but we missed a lot of loved ones... hubby's daughter couldn't come because her husband was on call and couldn't leave the base. She's missed seeing him the last two Thanksgivings, so we certainly understood why she wanted to stay home with him. She's a good daughter, mom and wife and we're proud of her. My daughter's family spent the day with her honey's family, so we missed seeing them too, but we understand - it's hard to get everywhere, when there's such an extended family to see.
Hubby's son and his wife came, but their kids were all visiting other relatives, and my older son is back overseas, so we missed about half of our family. It's tough having a blended family, and even more tough during the holidays.
But we have lots to be thankful for - our grandchildren are healthy and happy, they have good parents and good homes, they're intelligent and they're being raised by responsible people.
My husband's mother and both my parents are still living, and they're all in reasonably good health;while they may have problems from time to time, they have a good quality of life, and we all live near enough to see them often.
Hubby and I both enjoy life and have lots of interests to keep up going - besides our immediate family, our church family always has things going on, and of course our riding friends are ALWAYS up to something!
Last but not least, we're thankful that we live in a country where we've got to right to speak our minds, and to believe as we wish, whether it suits someone else or not.
What are YOU thankful for?
Friday, November 21, 2008
Insurance...
I am always amazed when people say they buy life insurance 'in case something happens to them' - I have only ever heard of two people who left this earth without dying - Enoch and Elijah. Everybody else has to be prepared for the time when they die; which brings me to my point.
How is your business covered? I'm not talking about life insurance, because I'm sure you've got that covered.
I'm talking about the day to day things that happen in your business:
*what happens to your clients when you die or are unable to work? Do you have a plan in place to make sure they're taken care of?
*what about your current projects? will someone you trust be able to step in and complete the work, or will someone be able to help your current clients find a new partner to finish their work?
*have you already discussed partnering for this with a trusted person in your business? someone whose work ethics are on the same keel as yours, and who can work with your clients to their satisfaction...
*do you have your passwords and file backups in a place that someone can find?
*are you up to date on notes on your clients and prospects, so someone stepping in won't have to start from scratch?
After making sure my family is taken care of, I want to make sure my clients are cared for; I want the transition to their new designer to be an easy one.
Are you prepared?
How is your business covered? I'm not talking about life insurance, because I'm sure you've got that covered.
I'm talking about the day to day things that happen in your business:
*what happens to your clients when you die or are unable to work? Do you have a plan in place to make sure they're taken care of?
*what about your current projects? will someone you trust be able to step in and complete the work, or will someone be able to help your current clients find a new partner to finish their work?
*have you already discussed partnering for this with a trusted person in your business? someone whose work ethics are on the same keel as yours, and who can work with your clients to their satisfaction...
*do you have your passwords and file backups in a place that someone can find?
*are you up to date on notes on your clients and prospects, so someone stepping in won't have to start from scratch?
After making sure my family is taken care of, I want to make sure my clients are cared for; I want the transition to their new designer to be an easy one.
Are you prepared?
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Refracted Stripes
I love Flickr! You can find the most gorgeous images on there, and I'm always inspired by some of the things I see.
I found this amazing shot this morning that I'd love to share with you - it's called Refracted Stripes, and it makes me want to go out and shoot all day long- which is always fun, but it's hard to get anything else done, while I'm traipsing around the countryside, saying, 'oh look at that' and snapping everything in sight. Check out MacBern's photostream, and then get out there and shoot something!
I found this amazing shot this morning that I'd love to share with you - it's called Refracted Stripes, and it makes me want to go out and shoot all day long- which is always fun, but it's hard to get anything else done, while I'm traipsing around the countryside, saying, 'oh look at that' and snapping everything in sight. Check out MacBern's photostream, and then get out there and shoot something!
Fluid Design
For as long as I've been designing websites, I've almost always designed using a fluid design- one that is set up so that it 'fits' the screen of the viewer, as often as possible. Obviously you can't fit everyone's screen, because some people use a small portion of their monitor to view the internet, saving another portion for their other open apps.
However, I feel this is the best way to go for most sites. If I use tables in the design, I set them so that they only use a percentage of the screen size. I did have a client who had purchased a template online, and we made some adjustments to it to customize for their site - he actually pulled out a ruler and showed me that the lines on each side of the design were not the same width, even though I had them set at the same pixel width. He also wanted the site to be perfect on his monitor, which was a fairly large one...
The problem with making a site 'perfect' on your monitor? You're forgetting that your customer is who you should be building your site for. My goal for website customers is to make a site that visitors can easily navigate, will enjoy viewing, looks good on their monitor, and is easily readable to them. That usually means, among other things, that I don't set exact font sizes in the design, but rather set it at 'large' or 'medium' according to how the font looks.
I do this for one simple reason - if I am on a site with tiny print, I will hold my CTRL button and use the scroll wheel on my mouse to enlarge it - if that doesn't work, I usually don't hang around very long. Life is too short to strain my eyes trying to read something in microscopic print.
Any site needs to look good, but it's most important that viewers can use it easily - and if they can't, what is that saying to them? "If you're not cool enough to use this site, then we don't want your business" is what it says to me. And I don't want to be responsible for a site that's saying that.
However, I feel this is the best way to go for most sites. If I use tables in the design, I set them so that they only use a percentage of the screen size. I did have a client who had purchased a template online, and we made some adjustments to it to customize for their site - he actually pulled out a ruler and showed me that the lines on each side of the design were not the same width, even though I had them set at the same pixel width. He also wanted the site to be perfect on his monitor, which was a fairly large one...
The problem with making a site 'perfect' on your monitor? You're forgetting that your customer is who you should be building your site for. My goal for website customers is to make a site that visitors can easily navigate, will enjoy viewing, looks good on their monitor, and is easily readable to them. That usually means, among other things, that I don't set exact font sizes in the design, but rather set it at 'large' or 'medium' according to how the font looks.
I do this for one simple reason - if I am on a site with tiny print, I will hold my CTRL button and use the scroll wheel on my mouse to enlarge it - if that doesn't work, I usually don't hang around very long. Life is too short to strain my eyes trying to read something in microscopic print.
Any site needs to look good, but it's most important that viewers can use it easily - and if they can't, what is that saying to them? "If you're not cool enough to use this site, then we don't want your business" is what it says to me. And I don't want to be responsible for a site that's saying that.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Relax!
The current assignment on the DPS forums is themed "Relax"; this is my entry.
My original idea was to have DH and L'il Red on hubby's bike, riding slightly behind me on mine. Red would take a picture using her P&S, catching her dad's shoulder and side of his head, framing me on my bike.
Well, you know what they say about 'best laid plans'... DH's bike is still in pieces in the carport, and the parts aren't in yet.
So... I just rolled my bike in front of my green backdrop and took some pictures.
Then I stepped out into the road in front of my house and snapped some more pictures. If you were one of the folks driving by while I was waiting to get in the road, no I haven't lost my mind, just having some fun.
Then I stepped back inside after breaking down the set (that backdrop support sure was very cost-effective, but it's not the quickest to take apart).
Photoshop is wonderful, and it wasn't too long before I had the shot I wanted (shown above). I've gotten several comments on it so far, and while it's not perfect, I'm pleased overall with how it turned out.
Now, if we can just get DH's bike back on the road- besides the problems he's already having, we got a recall notice in the mail this week, regarding problems with the gears - my favorite part of the letter refers to 'may cause rear wheel to lock up, which may result in a wreck, injury or even death' - four letters regarding this were sent to the previous owner, and I can't imagine why they didn't take care of this- there's no cost and it seems like a rear wheel lockup would put a serious dent in your riding fun.
My original idea was to have DH and L'il Red on hubby's bike, riding slightly behind me on mine. Red would take a picture using her P&S, catching her dad's shoulder and side of his head, framing me on my bike.
Well, you know what they say about 'best laid plans'... DH's bike is still in pieces in the carport, and the parts aren't in yet.
So... I just rolled my bike in front of my green backdrop and took some pictures.
Then I stepped out into the road in front of my house and snapped some more pictures. If you were one of the folks driving by while I was waiting to get in the road, no I haven't lost my mind, just having some fun.
Then I stepped back inside after breaking down the set (that backdrop support sure was very cost-effective, but it's not the quickest to take apart).
Photoshop is wonderful, and it wasn't too long before I had the shot I wanted (shown above). I've gotten several comments on it so far, and while it's not perfect, I'm pleased overall with how it turned out.
Now, if we can just get DH's bike back on the road- besides the problems he's already having, we got a recall notice in the mail this week, regarding problems with the gears - my favorite part of the letter refers to 'may cause rear wheel to lock up, which may result in a wreck, injury or even death' - four letters regarding this were sent to the previous owner, and I can't imagine why they didn't take care of this- there's no cost and it seems like a rear wheel lockup would put a serious dent in your riding fun.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Reflections of Gold
Some of our bike group leave out on Friday, headed for a long weekend trip to the foothills of the Smoky Mountains. We won't be going- hubby can't get the days off.
One of my favorite places to go is the mountains - I love to stop beside the road, where the river is running over rocks; barefoot, freezing my toes off wading through the shallows (even in the hottest part of summer); driving along the river, waving to those who are canoeing or rafting in the deeper parts, wishing I was part of it.
My retirement dream is to live in the mountains; maybe owning a small motel, where we cook for visitors in the summer and fall, and spend the winter snuggled up in front of a fire...
One of my favorite places to go is the mountains - I love to stop beside the road, where the river is running over rocks; barefoot, freezing my toes off wading through the shallows (even in the hottest part of summer); driving along the river, waving to those who are canoeing or rafting in the deeper parts, wishing I was part of it.
My retirement dream is to live in the mountains; maybe owning a small motel, where we cook for visitors in the summer and fall, and spend the winter snuggled up in front of a fire...
Saturday, November 8, 2008
New bike???
One of my sisters-in-law has decided she'd like to learn to ride, so she can get a motorcycle of her own. I'm very excited for her- since I've only been riding my own for the last two years, I can remember how much fun it is to learn.
She's asked me if I will help her learn a bit, and of course I told her I'd be glad to.
I can't wait to see what bike she gets!
She's asked me if I will help her learn a bit, and of course I told her I'd be glad to.
I can't wait to see what bike she gets!
Seasonal ideas
If you have a website, do you update it for seasonal changes? Obviously, you don't want to do a total remake several times a year, but it is always a good idea to acknowledge the holidays and seasons of the year.
My favorite search engine is Google; if you've never seen the way they honor different holidays, visit this page - it's their 'museum' of logos.
I know you can't do something on the same scale, but you can support your favorite holidays. As an example, during the Christmas holidays, I make a slight change to my logo, then link it from my main page, to a retelling of the Christmas story from the book of Luke. Starting this next year, I plan to do something similar for the Easter season - after all, the main purpose of Christmas' gift is fulfilled in Easter.
Think about it, and see what ideas you and your designer can come up with to celebrate the holidays and seasons that are important to you.
My favorite search engine is Google; if you've never seen the way they honor different holidays, visit this page - it's their 'museum' of logos.
I know you can't do something on the same scale, but you can support your favorite holidays. As an example, during the Christmas holidays, I make a slight change to my logo, then link it from my main page, to a retelling of the Christmas story from the book of Luke. Starting this next year, I plan to do something similar for the Easter season - after all, the main purpose of Christmas' gift is fulfilled in Easter.
Think about it, and see what ideas you and your designer can come up with to celebrate the holidays and seasons that are important to you.
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