You can teach an old dog new tricks

As I was looking around on tips for my new blog design, I found a great tutorial on a little technique that I have always wondered how to do. I know this is pretty simple and something most all of you can do but I am pretty happy with the results. Check it out!


Speaking of photos and dogs.... Melissa just sent me a few photos of Rafa from our weekend shoot. I can't wait to share them with you tomorrow!

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!!

What a Lucky Dog!

This weekend we took Rafa to his very first (professional) photo shoot! How exciting! He was just super happy to have a huge field to run around in and be the center of attention all morning long! A Big Thank You to Melissa for her time and expertise! I can't wait to see her work!!!


REMEMBER: 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!

Musical Monday: Twilight Edition!

Hosted by Jori and Diane

Yes, that's right! I was at Books-a-Million at midnight on Friday night to get my very own copy of the Twilight dvd! I also met Valarie Lea ~ but I'll save that post until I can snag a photo from her. Lucas and I watched the movie on Saturday, then I watched all the extras that came on the special features disc (while Lucas slept). One of the features... interviews and music video from Paramore. Love the song.. and the video!



Decode
by Paramore

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!!

Basic Social Rules Revisited

Facebook, Twitter, emails, text messaging, chatting, blogging..... we have certainly come a long way with communication technologies. But what happened to the basic form of communication: talking? More specifically: what has happened in society that has separated basic personal communication from the dating world?


Fortunately, I have found my Prince Charming (though some days I may call him Prince of anything other than charming). I no longer have to worry about how I'll meet guys, how we'll have those serious conversations, when our relationship is ready for the next step, and when it is time to throw in the towel. But several of my friends are dealing with these very issues. In a time when Match.com introduces more people than mutual friends and relationships aren't official until they are on Facebook, talking has been downgraded to an 'only when necessary' activity.

I know this is a groundbreaking suggestion, but how bout you people in the dating world relegate subjects of a more serious matter to face-to-face conversations? I know, right? Take some time..... let that sink in......

......

Moving on, I don't want one more friend coming to me and telling me they got dumped through an email or through Facebook. That is just insane! Man up, people! If you are in a committed relationship with someone, they deserve your decency and respect. They deserve the final closure a face-to-face conversation can bring. An email saying 'sorry, it's not gonna work' doesn't cut it. Period.

Believe me - I know that conversation is hard. You want to avoid the confrontation. You don't know how to begin, what to say, how to console, when to leave, etc. But these are growing pains that we all have to go through. A rite of passage through the dating world.

Bottom line is this: don't let technology make you a rude, inconsiderate coward.

You know who you are. And, yes - I just called you a coward. I'm sure if you had any manhood left that would've hurt.