A little coffee with your cream
I’ve spent the last few weeks working with a great new local client designing a new website for her massage therapy business. The site finally went live a few days ago and I thought I’d share it with you.
Client: Marlayna Jack, LMP
Site: marlaynajack.com
Details: Web design, HTML & CSS, built on WordPress using the Genesis Framework
MarlaynaJack.com
This blog runs on WordPress and over the years, there’s been several incarnations on a variety of different themes. About 6 months ago, I bought a WordPress Theme Framework called Genesis from StudioPress. I’m running Genesis on a couple of other blogs and I’ve built a couple websites on Genesis for clients but I’ve hesitated to switch this blog over because I really like the new default WP theme, TwentyTen, which is the theme I’m currently using.
Well, recently I stumbled on a really cool child theme for Genesis that is a port of the TwentyTen theme! I’m so excited!
So, over the next few days, I’m going to be updating this site to run on the Genesis Framework. You might notice that there aren’t really any sidebars or footers right now. That’s because those elements get reset when using a plugin called Theme Test Drive.
See, when Theme Test Drive is enabled, it lets me setup a new theme behind the scenes while you still get to enjoy the current theme. That way, I can make tweaks (and break things! LOL) without causing you any trouble out here. Unfortunately, it seems that because I’m using a child theme that uses some of the TwentyTen elements, it’s resetting the sidebars that you normally see.
Don’t worry, though – by the time it’s all finished, you should see it just about like it used to be. There may be a few slight changes here and there but otherwise, it’ll look just like the blog you’ve come to know and love. 
We’ll just be running on Genesis instead.
Please bear with me and if you see anything really, really out of whack, please let me know! Because when *I* look at the blog, I actually see the theme I’m developing so if there’s something weird going on with the current theme, I might not see it.
Until next time . . . keep blazin’!
Okay, now, you might be thinking “Hey, Annie – I’ve been reading your blog for a while and I clearly remember you saying some time ago that you hate that word “passions” and here you are using it as a post title! What’s up with that?”
And I assure you I’m just as surprised that it popped out and into the Title line.
But I’m leaving it.
So, that aside, let’s find out what it means . . .
One of my personal targets for this year is to reintroduce things I used to enjoy into my life that for one reason or another, I’d let slide over the past several years. Things like reading regularly for pleasure (not just for business or self-improvement), bike riding, writing more than just blog posts and work-related assignments and other pastimes I once made room for.
Over the past month or so, I’ve plucked 2 of those out of the slush pile and am finding time for them again. Namely, reading – I bought a Kindle 3 and now have 7 pages of books I’ve read or am currently reading – and bike riding, which I just remedied by purchasing a used Recumbent bike. It’s one called a BikeE – they are no longer being made but you can find them for sale now and then on places like craigslist and eBay.
I haven’t ridden it much yet but I’m excited to start doing so! I’ve been looking for a good, used Recumbent for a long time. The weather is finally starting to get warmer and I’m really looking forward to riding again. I already aired the tires up but it still needs a little cleaning as it had been sitting in the sellers garage for quite a while. Amazingly enough, it’s still in excellent shape, though! With as cheap as it was advertised for, I was expecting to have to put some money into things like new brakes, tires and a good tune-up. I was quite surprised when I got there and saw how well taken care of it actually was. Other than low tires and being dusty, nothing else was wrong with it!
Now that I’ve got a bike to ride that won’t kill my back and my arm, I can really get into my target of losing some weight. If I do have surgery on my back, being in a little better shape will help my recovery process go smoother. And that’s my main motivation here.
I’ve even signed up for a couple of “challenges” – one sponsored by the White House called the President’s Challenge and one through a biking group I belong to. It’s going to be fun!
And that’s why I’ve called this post Passions. Sometimes it takes a little passion to get where you want to go and getting back to your core being is the best catalyst I can think of. That’s what reintroducing these things is to me – my core interests. Things I’d let go for too long.
In order to pursue my Theme for this year – SHINE – and be the Trailblazer I want to be, I have to get back to that. So that’s what it’s all about! I hope my passion will open doors for you too. I’d love to hear what you’re doing too so don’t be afraid to post a comment or two and speak up!
We’re all in this life together, right?
Until next time . . . keep blazin’!
One of my targets for the next several months is to get better at writing. Well, no – not just better, but also more consistent. Because even though my biggest passion is writing, I fail to do it more often than not. Which is not good considering one of my many dreams is to be a best selling author someday.
There are a couple of writing competitions I’m planning to enter. One ends the 31st of March. I’m not sure I’ll make the deadline but I’m going to give it one helluva try. And the best part is – I get to do it on my sweet new iMac!
Well, it’s not new – just new to me. A friend of mine wanted a MacBook Pro laptop which is what I’ve had for the past 4 years. He called me about it a couple weeks ago and asked me to help him find a good used one for around $700-$800. So, I looked and found most of them were going for more than that but that iMac’s were going for around $700. I’d been considering returning to a desktop because I rarely actually took my laptop anywhere. So I made a proposal to my friend – buy me an iMac and I’ll give you my MacBook Pro.
So, last Sunday, that’s exactly what we did. We went and bought me a used iMac with almost the exact specs of my MBP – just a little bigger hard drive and more RAM – and brought it home. I transferred all my files and settings to the iMac and cleared out the MBP for him. And we’re both happy campers! Although this iMac is one of the smaller ones – a 20″ – It’s vastly bigger than the 15 inches of screen real estate I’m used to. It’s been a pleasure working on designs and writing on this big screen! And I’m finding it’s good motivation for getting things done. I can open things side by side and see everything. Very nice indeed!
But anyway, back to the writing thing – I find that it’s simply easier to work on a bigger screen. Now I know why Apple is always making bigger screens. One of their current iMac sizes is 27″. I remember when my 17 year old was a baby, our TV was 27″ and the computer monitor was 14! And THAT was big! LOL
Ok . . . back to the writing thing for real this time! LOL (I’m just excited about my new computer.)
When I started journaling again a few months ago, I started using actual, physical notebooks – Moleskine’s, to be exact. I haven’t written with pen and paper in that capacity for years. And I’m finding it liberating. I’m finding my voice again. And that’s what I’m seriously excited about!
To be honest with you, sharing my writing with the world scares the living crap out of me. It’s deeply personal, even works of fiction. As the premise goes, writing often reveals more about the writer than the reader or the story itself.
Like I wrote in my journal, I always think of writing as something incredibly profound and immensely personal. It’s the blood and the soul and the aftermath of a thousand thoughts all colliding, competing for ones attention. It’s a sketch of something building into a powerful calling, a lasting testament to something deeper than your own Self.
And that’s why sharing it with anyone else has always been so hard for me.
But I aim to change that. Because I *do* want to share it with the world.
It’s going to take a lot of courage to get beyond the fears of letting my work out there, to be seen and read and loved and hated by people I don’t even know. People I will never know. But . . .
That’s why it’s a leap, right?
So here’s to writing . . . and leaping!
Until next time . . . keep blazin’!
Back in January, I started journaling again. Something I hadn’t really done seriously since about 2007. Which is odd, actually, because I’ve journaled in one way or another since I learned to write.
Anyway, a few weeks ago I was watching a movie with Alyssa Milano called “My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend.” It was interesting but I mostly liked it because I like Alyssa Milano’s acting. And in the movie, her boyfriend’s Uncle Logan says -
“No one is ever really ready. That’s why they call it a leap.”
Which got me to thinking about taking leaps of faith in my own life. And I realized something quite profound. Here’s what I wrote in my journal about it -
“Bu then, what’s the point otherwise? Seems like life isn’t anything worthwhile without leaping.”
And I think that’s true. I know, for me, that even though I’ve leaped and ended up in a disaster more than once, I also know taking the risk of leaping in the first place was always worthwhile even when the end result didn’t turn out they way I wanted. In the past year, I’d lost sight of that. As they say, “there’s nowhere to go from here but up!”
Indeed.
As a result, I’ve decided to return to school once again. I’m going to finish my Bachelor’s in Graphic Design with an emphasis on Web Applications and then I’m going to go to school for what I *REALLY* want to do, what I’ve wanted to do for most of my life – Anthropology. I’ve already been accepted to the program and classes start March 28th if I go this quarter.
Just a few short weeks away! WOW! Snuck up on me. I may wait until Fall, though. Gotta see if I can get the necessary funding in this short of time. Otherwise, I will definitely have to wait until September classes.
So, here’s to leaping!
Time to spread wide the wings of faith and leap . . .
Until next time. . . . keep blazin’!
But we tend to find our way back again.
Sometimes we get lost for a moment and other times it’s much longer than we even realize. One thing is true though – we come back stronger than before.
At least, that is my aim.
And while I may not be 100% sure exactly where I’m heading, many doors are opening for me.
So here’s my philosophy (courtesy of Max Keenan, a character on Fox’s crime drama Bones) -
“I don’t believe in encouraging all that self-esteem crap. You want something? You work for it.”
And that’s what I am aiming for over the next several months. Because I may not truly know where I’m heading, but I sure as hell do know who I am and what I want out of the next phase of my life.
Because I’m a trailblazer. 
And that’s that.
As I’m sure you’re aware, I’ve been rather quiet off and on here over the past several months. Part of it is due to being busy with various aspects life – kids, family, friends, work, education, etc – and it seems like this blog has been neglected. Please don’t take it personally.
Because, honestly, the biggest reason for my absence is that things have been rough for me on an emotional level.
It seems that a lot of bloggers out there will write about everything or pretty close it, even fairly personal things. They go to their blogs and let off steam about the daily pressures of life. Some of them share juicy details about divorces, kids problems, personal issues, female issues and all manner of other subjects.
That’s not me.
And because I couldn’t put on a mask of happiness and pretend things were fine, I haven’t been here.
I’ve wished to be here. Thought about coming by and writing something – anything – but nothing spilled out when I touched the keyboard. So I just left and said nothing at all.
Sometimes space is all we need.
Many of you have sent me personal messages here or via email or on Facebook and I thank you for those. It’s made feel like I still had a place somewhere. I deeply treasure those messages and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
But today . . . today I am trying to come back and break through all of the confusion.
I don’t really know where it’s all going yet but I’m hoping with your support, I’ll figure out where I belong.
Be blessed . . . and keep blazin’!
Hi! I'm Annie and this is my blog. I write about living a kick-ass life and doing epic shit. I'm a writer, designer, thinker and mom who lives in the Pacific Northwest, loves cats, coffee and bicycles. ;-) For more about me, click the link ---> [Read More …]
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