Check Us Out @ NEWLYWEDS!

Hello to everyone coming over from NEWLYWEDS!

We are the featured couple today on Jenna's Meet the Newlyweds segment!

We've been married for over two years now, but I still feel like a Newlywed! :)

I am usually a very regular blogger, but this week has been a wild one and blogging has fallen off quite drastically. Hopefully things will slow down a bit and my blogging will pick back up soon. Blogging is my tool to reflect on what is going on in our lives, and I desperately need it now.

Several of my regulars have asked about my mom, so I thought I'd give you a quick update. The previous diagnosis of immunodeficiency disorder - while it may be correct - did in no way help her situation. So we are still looking for answers on why she is so sick and how we can make her better. But good news - we went to Vanderbilt on Tuesday to see a specialist. He has pinpointed the problem in her nose and sinuses. She will have surgery in August and hopefully put an end to all this crazy sickness. Her new doctor there is crazy smart and feels confident he can take care of her problems. Thank you!

Also going on in our lives right now - a major bathroom renovation. The shower pan in our master bathroom shower was leaking so now we have to take out all of the tile. So we are completely renovating our shower with new tile and fixtures (and plumbing), replacing our toilet, replacing our sink and faucet, replacing all the fixtures in the bathroom, and freshening it up with a nice coat of paint (color still undetermined). Then, I think we'll need new blinds and window treatments. Why not?

If you didn't think that was enough - I'm currently enrolled in my first semester of graduate school. I'll be taking two courses a semester so I can finish my MBA in about a year! However, I didn't take into consideration that summer courses cover the same material in half the time. So my first semester of school includes two courses with 16 weeks of material crammed into 8. Oh, and I am getting all the hard stuff out of the way first. So that 8 weeks is crammed full of Accounting and Finance! Blah!

So now I have to get back to my Finance. I have so much work due by Midnight tonight and still haven't finished. Oh, yea.... and I have to work, too!

Sorry, enough moaning and complaining. But we have lots of exciting things going on!

Welcome to our crazy life!

Welcome to South Meets South

I am so excited to welcome you to my new bloggy home!

I have enjoyed blogging over the past year and look forward to sharing and making many more memories here at South Meets South.

With the new name I'm starting fresh so show me some love and "Follow Me" over on the right.

Let the journey begin!!!

CHANGE

I think we're all about "changed" out after the election season, but I have some news to report about this 'lil ole' blog. Remember this? Well.... it is about to happen!

I hope to be introducing you to my new home next week!!!

Until then ~ I'll be lounging on the beach!!! Remember this? Well it is now!

Have a happy holiday weekend!!!
See ya'll on the other side!

One Year

Well, it seems my blog and I have come to a pinnacle moment: one year together.

In the beginning, I wasn't sure how successful we would be or what exactly we were getting ourselves into. We had a rocky start - talking about the weather or other random nothings. But eventually I adjusted to life in the blogosphere: venting, creating, bragging, celebrating,traveling, and discovering new passions. We shared it together and made a lot of new friends along the way.

Yes, it seems this blog of mine and I will make it after all. There are many more changes coming in our future but through them all we hope to grow stronger and continue to meet lots of cool new people along the way.

I had hoped to unveil a brand new blog (still the same ole blog with a new name, home, and design) to mark this occasion, but I am far from ready for that. Instead, I'll announce my new blog name and cross my fingers that when the day comes to make that switch you will all follow me. Without further ado, I present to you the future of this little blog:

South Meets South:
When a Southern Girl falls in love
with a South American Man

I had already thought about this name when Jen @ Buried with Children suggested it, too. So I owe her a small token of my appreciation and will try to come up with something shortly. Thanks, Jen!

And thank you for listening,

Ashley

Designing with the stars....

I dabble in design but am very limited in my knowledge. I would love to hire a professional to give my blog a makeover for the 'new' blog but - alas - I am too cheap for that. Plus, I know that I can do it myself with a little time, research, and effort. It might not be as great but it will be custom and it will be mine.

So here is my question: how do you get the border around your content that separates it from your background?

Some examples (from beautiful blogs):

Heather separates her white content background from her background image with a thick black border








Kimba separates her two solid color backgrounds with a brown border




And Valarie Lea separates her background image from the content with a thick pink border






You can tell I designed my own blog.... no transition....

HELP! THANK YOU!!

Do you tweet?

I am twittering on Twitter. I have tweeted around and found a few of you twits but am looking for more. If you are a twitterer then tweet on over to my Twitter so I can tweet back to you.

So blogging about Twitter has apparently become the cool thing to do. I am behind on the Twitter buzz and just started my account. You can find my Twitters over there on the right. I also downloaded the app for my Blackberry. So I think I'm getting the hang of this thing.

I stole this video from Julie. Twitterer or not - you must check it out.



Also, don't forget to help me out in my search for a new name. You've come up with some great suggestions so far. Keep 'em coming!

New Name, New Blog.... With your help

When I started blogging I thought this would be a good way to record what is going on in our life and be able to reflect personally on what we have done. I was clueless to the world that was 'the blogosphere'. Then, I found you. I found SITS. I started commenting. And before I knew it - I had friends! (I mean - suddenly I had friends online from all over the country and world. I had real-world friends before the blog. Really, I did......)

While 'The Linares Family' blog has served its purpose, I'm ready to move on to a more descriptive - or shall we so - more anonymous blog. In the process, I'd like to have my very own domain name and spiff up my blog a little. This is where you come in....

What should I name this blog of mine?
It seems I am creative when given parameters but it is hard for me to pull things from the air. I just don't know where to start. Please help me!

If I pick your suggested name there will be a nice little prize that is tailored to your interests... meaning I don't have anything right off hand to give away but I'll find something really great for you if you pull through!

So EVERYONE put on your thinking, creative hats and let's create a new blog personality for The Linares Family.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

***At Ruthanne's request I'm going to throw in a little more details. I've thought about trying to name our blog around our marriage: you know - he's from South American, I'm from the South... type thing. We both play tennis and that's how we met. So that's one angle. I blog about random happenings and family... maybe one day in the not too distant future about a growing family. *hint**nudge**wink* Hehe!! Thanks for your help!!

Hmmm... who will I be today?

On a really random side note, I was posting a comment on another blog an noticed an interesting command that Blogger asks of me many times a days that I scan right past without thinking. Mr. Blogger says "Choose an Identity". Just like that. Just choose one. I don't know. Just a weird command. That is all....