Just so’s ya know

7 October 2008, 7:45 am by Giggles
Categories: Politics, Science & Tech

If you visited my site yesterday, for several hours during the afternoon, and a little bit in the evening, you might have noticed some real weird things. I was trying to figure out the whole column layout thing in CSS and php.

And since I don’t really know CSS or php, it was a whole wonderfully frustrating experience in trial and error. Lots of error. Lots and lots.

After several frustrating hours, I finally figured it out. I had to move one line of code from the end of a file to the beginning of a file on three different files. And that was it. Just that simple.

I clapped for myself when I figured it out. 😀 There probably won’t be too many other people who would clap for me on this, but I think it’s pretty darn cool what I did.

I was also setting up some fun themes to use the rest of the year (this pretty Fall one inspired me). You might have caught them for a minute or two yesterday or a few days ago. You’ll see them later. That part of CSS I have figured out.

The images on the blog all work (I think). But there might be some links back to the rest of my site that I haven’t caught yet. If you find one, let me know.

And I have a few more touch-ups I want to try to put in, so expect my blog to go weird every now and then. I do enjoy a computer challenge every now and then.

And, I double checked, I am registered to vote next month.

You’ll probably be hearing more about that later too.

And remember to smile today. Smile and the whole world smiles with you. Which seems fitting for World Smile Day.

1 Shared thought

Um Aniversário

6 October 2008, 3:30 pm by Giggles
Categories: Gospel, Happy Things, Life

Hoje faz nove anos que eu entrei no CTM.

Não podia imaginar o que aconteceria. Mas também não posso imaginar como seria a minha vida hoje se não servi.

1 Shared thought

Conference Weekend

4 October 2008, 11:24 am by Giggles
Categories: Gospel, Life, Quilting/Sewing/Knitting/Crafting

I love Conference weekend of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. What an amazing opportunity to learn, grow, and be inspired. I took the opportunity while I was still in Utah to attend Conference in the Conference Center several times, and once in the Tabernacle in 1997 as well (the picture is when I went with my mom in April of 2005). I loved watching it from my house as well. Now I watch it on the internet, still at home. I have marked many events in my life by their relation to General Conference, going to college, leaving and coming home from my mission, and others.

I remember the first time I “watched” conference over the internet. It was my first General Conference while I was on my mission, and because my feet were not cooperating, I was in the mission home that month. It was my job that weekend to make sure we had the programs we would need so that we could all listen to General Conference on the computer. It was the first Conference in the new Conference Center. There was no video, just audio, so I downloaded a picture of the organ in the Conference Center and put that on the screen so we could at least see that while we watched.

Today I can watch it at the stake center, on the computer at my home, or at the homes of friends who have cable and get the channel it is on. Then, I can read it in the Ensign or the Liahona next month. The conference report used to not come out for three months after Conference in the Liahona, January and July, instead of May and November. I remember when the Liahona several years ago announced that international readers would not have to wait so long any more. A month after I get the Ensign and Liahona, I get the DVDs. Conference really can be a part of my life all year long.

I have already enjoyed one session today (and found it funny when I checked my news reader after and saw that KSL and Deseret News reported the announcement of new temples less than an hour after the actual announcement). I’m looking forward to the remaining sessions, and hopefully getting some binding done on quilts while I listen and take notes. The talks already today have already given me much to think about.

3 Shared thoughts

New Shoes

3 October 2008, 11:47 am by Giggles
Categories: Gospel, Health, Life, Random, Venting

I don’t buy new shoes often. I have the basics so I can match just about anything I’m wearing. My feet are very important to me, and since they’ve already had problems, I’m very particular about what shoes I buy and how they fit.

When I served my mission in Brasil, we walked. We did not have cars or bikes like missionaries in some other areas. We walked. The saying was that we’d walk enough to walk home by the time we were done, probably 7-10 miles a day. So good shoes were an absolute must. As it was I developed tendinitis on the top of both feet and the arches of both my feet fell so that I had a hard time walking anywhere by the end. I still have to wear custom orthotics in my closed shoes.

I bought a pair of Eccos and wore them out by the time I got home. The upper and sole were both worn. So I went to the store and bought another pair exactly like that first pair. That was the summer of 2001, more than seven years ago. I haven’t worn this pair every day like that first pair, and I haven’t walked 7-10 miles a day in them either. So they’ve lasted quite well. I’ve had to replace the elastic holding the buckle on. And last year I had the heel replaced on them as well. The upper still looks great though.

The last time I wore them, I realized that the sole was basically broken, cracked, almost falling off at the ball of my foot. Sad, sad day.

So I asked around for a good shoe repair place. I also had a pair of sandals that needed a strap glued back on. So I took in three shoes to the recommended place, even though I only have two feet. Nice man said he’d fix the sandal. But then told me there was nothing he could do for my Eccos. He said the way the sole is made they can’t glue a new one on. What? No! I can’t believe it.

So, a quick Google search later, it turns out that’s only partially true. There might be nothing he can do, but they can be fixed. There are several places I could mail my shoes to and have them fixed and mailed back to me. The cost would be about half what the shoes cost to begin with, and get me at least another seven years with them. So now I need to see if there’s a place in Tucson that knows how to do that, or if I’ll have to mail them off to Oregon or Georgia or some place. I should check out Phoenix too. Phoenix is a bit closer than Georgia. But they’ll be good as new when I get them back. They’ll be my new old shoes. And I won’t have to resort to desperate measures like just duct taping the sole. Although that would probably work quite well in the short term.

My black boots are looking like they might be wearing out too. The upper is looking a bit worn. I wonder if they can be fixed. Because me finding another pair of boots that don’t look like they were stolen off a witch, hooker, or biker chick, is going to be hard.

Gotta love a good pair of shoes.

3 Shared thoughts

Maybe you could fly a jet

2 October 2008, 8:01 am by Giggles
Categories: Random

It’s October, I can ask this now.

What should I be for Halloween this year?

I am in the wonderful situation of having a whole store of costumes that I have used over the last few years. And since I moved this year, nobody here has seen any of them, so I can easily reuse a costume and nobody will know.

I can do any of these without any preparation. The problem then comes in picking one.

I could be a:

  • Princess
  • Prisoner
  • Fairy
  • Super Hero
  • Biker
  • Ancient Greek
  • Belly dancer
  • Witch

So, what are your opinions? And then I’ll just pick what I want anyway. But since I don’t know what I want to be yet, I could be swayed one way or another.

5 Shared thoughts

General Conference

1 October 2008, 9:14 am by Giggles
Categories: Gospel, Learn Something

It is coming on General Conference season again. I love it. It seems like in some ways that we just had the last General Conference just the other day. But I can probably explain that.

This will be the fourth time that I have tried to read the entire Conference Report from the past conference before the next conference. The first time I did that, with the October 2006 Conference before the April 2007, I finished the last talk fifteen minutes before the first session of the April 2007 Conference. I still finished before it though. The next time I didn’t do as well and finished a week later. Last time I finished a whole month before the April Conference. This time around, I finished the last talk last Wednesday. Except this isn’t just to blog about how well I can read a conference report.

Reading it, the whole thing, every talk in all six sessions, means I think about them longer than just while I am attending Conference and writing my notes. Having my notes means I paid attention the first time through. I also get the DVDs and watch those again on Sundays. It’s interesting that the talks that stood out when I listened live are not the ones that stand out as I watch the DVDs again over the next several months. And then I read the talks and highlight what stands out to me that time. It is rare that the exact same thing stands out to me in all three instances. I blame that on me being in a different place in my life from one instance to another.

But by doing those things, it keeps me immersed in General Conference throughout the whole six months until the next one. I find that I can reference the talks much more in other situations. In a Sunday School or Institute class, I remember that there was a talk about the different subjects and reference them. I don’t always remember who the exact person was that gave the talk, but the information is in my head.

It seems that part of the concluding talk of the whole Conference is an expression of hope that what we have heard and felt will make a difference in our lives. But if you can’t remember what was heard or felt (the notes I take during Conference include a lot of things that nobody else hears but me, those things I feel more than hear), it can’t become part of your life.

I know I could make it even more a part of my life, and I will keep looking for that. Some claim that it seems like we are getting the same topics every six months. But if you study it, internalize it, while the general topics might remain the same, there is so much to learn each time. There might be a talk on faith every time (and there is), but each time will further our understanding of that infinitely large principle. Yet you have to have kept the previous information if you are going to add to it and increase your understanding.

General Conference is an amazing blessing in my life. I am grateful for the multitude of ways I can participate in it, and for more than just one weekend every six months. I have marked several different events in my life by General Conference. I am always inspired to act in some part of my life while I listen. And at least one talk every time feels like it was given just for me. I’m really looking forward to this weekend.

2 Shared thoughts

Meeting Goobi!

30 September 2008, 11:30 pm by Giggles
Categories: Family, Gospel, Happy Things

I got to spend the weekend with my sister, her husband, and Goobi (my nephew), my mom, my dad, and my brother. That’s all of us. My brother-in-law blessed my nephew in Church on Sunday. So we all made sure we were there for that.

My nephew is the cutest kid in the world. And smart too. I took a ton of pictures and some movies as well. He’s such a good baby. He definitely left a mark on me. I got to be there for his first month birthday. And I helped him draw a picture for my sister’s birthday today.

And my parents are going to be awesome grandparents. Dad is already bribing him with popsicles.

2 Shared thoughts