1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?
   I got to see a little bit of California’s wine country! So lovely, I want to go back.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
   I don’t usually make real resolutions, but in 2012 I’m going to continue improving my domestic diva-ness: canning my own food and sewing my own quilt.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
   My friend, Erin, had her daughter, Lillian, last New Year’s Eve.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
   Jason’s uncle (aka Dad #2), Fred, passed away in August. My mom’s uncle, Roger, passed away in September.
5. What countries did you visit?
   I decided to stay in the US this year… (I should use my passport more.)
6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
   Paint on the walls in my home, a comfortable crafting room (“lady town”), and my dream bathroom. We have a lot of housework to do in 2012! (And thanks to my generous siblings, we have a very good head-start with our home improvement funds.)
7. What date(s) from 2011 will remain etched your memory, and why?
   Over the 4^th of July weekend I photographed a very lovely half-Indian, half-Scottish wedding. August 21^st was the day Uncle Fred lost his battle with cancer. July 29^th was the day Jason closed on the house. (There were a lot of good days mixed in with bad days this year.)
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
   Advancing my career as a web chick (aka web developer)!
9. What was your biggest failure?
   Not paying off more debt.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
    Excellent timing: I was diagnosed with an ear infection about two days prior to my insurance ending with my previous employer — and I would’ve had to wait another month for my insurance with my new employer to kick in!
11. What was the best thing you bought?
    Movers really helped me out mid-August (as did my fantastic brother-in-law).
12. Where did most of your money go?
    I’m honestly not sure — a lot of little things really add up, I guess.
13. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
    Moving into the house with the man I love! Also, becoming more of a domestic diva: cooking for Thanksgiving dinner with friends, canning, gardening (next year), knitting, and sewing.
14. What song(s) will always remind you of 2011?
    Cloud Cult’s “Running with the Wolves.”
15. Compared to this time last year, are you:
    • happier or sadder? Happier!
    • thinner or fatter? About the same, though my new employer feeds me a lot and I haven’t been walking or standing as much.
    • richer or poorer? A little bit richer, but still working on paying off that pile of debt!
16. What do you wish you’d done more of?
    Crafting, reading, hanging out with friends.
17. What do you wish you’d done less of?
    Wallowing in depression about money.
18. How will you be spending/did you spend Christmas?
    Over the last couple days, Jason and I were in South Dakota with my family. This afternoon we’re celebrating Bertine & Zach’s wedding. In another two weekends, we’ll be celebrating with Jason’s family in Iowa.
19. Did you fall in love in 2011?
    I fell more in love, if that’s even possible.
20. How many one-night stands?
    I try to stand at least once every night.
21. What was your favorite TV program?
    The Walking Dead. It makes me nervous and I can’t watch it without Jason being around, but it’s so well written and acted!
22. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
    I try not to use this word/feel this emotion.
23. What was the best book you read?
    The only book I read this year was The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom, but I did very much enjoy it.
24. What was/were your greatest musical discoveries?
    Florence + The Machine is probably my favorite from this year.
25. What did you want and get?
    For the last five months or so, I’ve been dying to trade in my Android for an iPhone, but it was never financially feasible. I was going to wait until next month to take the plunge, but my sweetie did some sneaking around and got me an iPhone for Christmas! I may or may not have cried (just a little bit). (Excitement, you know?) (Who am I kidding? I cry at everything.)
26. What was your favorite film of this year?
    Harry Potter!
27. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
    I turned 30 this past November. I had a couple friends visiting, Bridget and Lindy. We went to brunch at Fat Nat’s Eggs, visited the Museum of Russian Art and IKEA, then for dinner (with Jason and Kristi joining) we made Tater Tot Hot Dish and watched both of the final Harry Potter movies back-to-back. It was a great day!
28. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
    If our girl kitties would just (at least) tolerate each other.
29. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?
    Too poor to shop for clothing, make do with what I have.
30. What kept you sane?
    Jason.
31. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
    I very much enjoyed watching Will & Kate’s Royal Wedding (and seeing what she wore and her jewelry and etc. etc. etc.)
32. What political issue stirred you the most?
    I don’t know, I’m not really very political (out loud, I guess).
33. Who did you miss?
    Friends from South Dakota (I didn’t make it home enough this year).
34. Who was the best new person you met?
    I met a lot of new people this year — my new team at work, friends’ friends, or people just passing through my life’s adventures.
35. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011:
    Just breathe. Everything will work out.
36. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
    Then lights they fill the air, or were they always there?
    I finally see it. I finally see it.
    And I heard the captain say, I heard the captain say,
    “You’re always close to it, so very close to it.”
    There’s so much energy in us.

how does this song make you feel? tonight it makes me feel a little blue, though i still like it a lot.

i heard it on my way home tonight, after attending my company’s holiday party. i’ve only been working there for a little over a month, so i don’t know many people beyond my immediate team. unfortunately being an introvert got the best of me tonight — trying to socialize while there’s a loud blues band playing? not happening. i just can’t stand trying to yell conversation at people.

i guess i’ll just have to keep trying. a little bit at a time.

Honestly, I was more freaked out at my 27^th birthday. After entering my late 20s and becoming more confident in who I am (a crazy cat lady who enjoys knitting and wine), 30 didn’t seem so daunting. The only thing I was worried about was how I would celebrate entering a new decade in my life — I couldn’t think of anything I really wanted to do (other than knitting, petting kitties, and drinking wine, of course).

Luckily, two of my friends from South Dakota, Bridget and Lindy, decided to take a weekend vacation to the cities. This quelled my fear that I was truly boring. If I decided to stay in and do nothing, at least I’d have friends to talk to about how much I love staying in and doing nothing!

My weekend actually began with an 11/11/11 celebration at work — finger food and Apothic Red. I’ve been with Gage Marketing for about two weeks now, and the worst thing I’ve found is the toilet paper. Seriously, so far this place is rad. I’ve had a couple small projects so far — I’m looking forward to more — but it was pretty nice to end the work week with a glass of wine.

That evening, Jason and I went to a wedding on UMN’s Showboat. Our friends, Joe and Laura, got married. The ceremony was very lovely, her dress was gorgeous, and the karaoke was great!

On Saturday, I joined Bridget and Lindy for a day of adventure. We ate brunch at Fat Nat’s Eggs — a casual joint that I pass everyday going to and from work. I ordered the “Favrito” and it was super spicy and delicious. The atmosphere was similar to that of a VFW. It was a down-to-earth restaurant, and I will definitely go back to try more of the spicy breakfast platters they offer.

After that, we went to view some Ukrainian antiquities at the Museum of Russian Art. I’ve passed the building before, but never actually gone in. We saw a lot of tools, jewelry and vases that were about 4,000–6,000 years old and our minds boggled. I really, really wish I could’ve taken photos to share with you. We also saw art from Oleg Vassiliev. Most of his art was political and a bit over my head, but I enjoyed his storybook illustrations that were on display.

Then? IKEA. Boy, did I get some ideas about things I’d like to have in my house…

So we wore ourselves out pretty well and came up with the best way to recover and ring in my 30^th birthday: we stopped at Target for part 2 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on DVD, the fixin’s for Tater Tot Hot Dish, and some cake mix. Kristi and Jason joined us for the evening as well.

Having friends that will watch parts 1 and 2 of the final Harry Potter installment with me? Priceless. I’m a pretty lucky gal!

Yesterday morning, I made a strata and Vani came over for some chatter before Bridget and Lindy had to head back to South Dakota. I opened various cards I received in the mail and the gift that Jason got for me — remote start for my car! That will be so nice to have this winter! My brother and sister-in-law sent me the most recent A Book Apart books (because I also <3 web) and my sister and brother-in-law sent me a gift card to Amazon.com (what should I get for myself??).

So, I'm feeling pretty spoiled thankful because I have an awesome boyfriend, amazingly generous friends, and a pretty good life in general. So far this decade is off to a fantastic start!

there is so much going on this summer, and i have so so so many things i keep meaning to write about and share photos from, but i have this sort of block in my head about blogging. i’ve been working for two this summer at work (my boss has been on maternity leave, but the end is in sight) so it’s tough to come home and want to do more web work, ya know? it’s not like i’m turning off the computer altogether when i get home – i’m still twittering and facebooking, but it’s not mandatory work like this whole business of updating a blog is.

but, anyway, as i said — the end is in sight and maybe one day soon i’ll get better at updating. i do so love to share my photos here – and it’s a good record of the awesome things i do and the awesome people i know and the awesome experiences i’ve had. life is good, it’s just really busy at the moment.

and even though i have a million other things that have happened in the last few months that i want to share (eventually), i’m going to start with the most recent, most exciting news at the moment:

jason bought a house.

i get to be in this photo because he’s sweet and, at the end of the month, i’ll be moving in with him. it’s a really nice, cute house with lots of rooms for guests and rock band and kitties and bird feeders (in the yard). we are very much looking forward to what will go down when my two kitties move in and meet his kitty.

the previous (and only) owner of the house had lived here since the mid-1950s, so that gives us a good feeling about the joint. he was about 90 years old and moving into an assisted living home. he couldn’t take all of his furniture, so we opted to keep a couple of pieces that he would’ve otherwise gotten rid of – the highlights include a couple loveseats, an extra bed for guests, and (i’m especially excited about this) a sewing machine (because as much as i love web, i will always love crafting by hand – expect updates on attempts to quilt sometime this winter) (first i need to finish a couple knitting projects…).

not including the frozen pizza we made on friday, i made our first dinner in the house last night. i like the kitchen a lot – it needs some aesthetic updating, but it’s large and it’s going a good work triangle going on. the funkiest thing in the house is amana radarange instead of microwave, though. i’m sort of weary about using it, but i suppose we’ll add that to the list i’m going to title as such: “someday-future-house-projects-that-we-need-to-prioritize-but-right-now-lets-focus-on-just-moving-in-and-getting-settled-and-enjoying-the-new-digs”.

the night that jason closed, we went to see cloud cult play at orchestra hall. i think that could be another post of photos entirely. it was a beautiful show and a fabulous ending to a very notable day, so the ticket is the first thing that has been hung on the fridge.

as much as i daydream about having clothing lines outside, the neighbor’s grapevine is covered in these little metallic bugs that i’m sure would also cover my drying laundry. so instead the clothing line poles will hold my bird feeders. i haven’t seen any little birdies on them, yet, but i’ve seen them across the backyard on another neighbor’s feeders. i have seen two little rabbits and a squirrel, though. jason saw a deer a couple nights ago, too. nature! i love it and i want it to be in my backyard.

chives that have flowered = no longer edible, right? does that whole don’t-eat-after-it-flowers thing apply to all herbs?

tomatoes that i’ll be excited to pick and cook or can in the next month. there will actually be a lot of tomatoes on four little plants.

i don’t know much about rhubarb, but i know it makes good pies. is it too late in the season for this stuff? do i need to cut it back for next spring? is this really rhubarb or is it just that weed that looks like rhubarb?

there is so much about this house to be excited about! mostly i can’t wait ’til after moving is all done to get into the front flower gardens and clean it all up in preparation for next spring! because digging in the dirt doesn’t cost money (until you realize that you don’t have all of the proper tools…).

i don’t post nerdy things about what i do professionally very often, but i thought this one might be beneficial to others. there are also a few elements in the solution that i’d like to better understand, just because it’s so nice to learn. so if anyone has any further tips, please share!

on to the good stuff — the company i work for is undergoing a pretty major rebranding. we’re a division within the company and still working out some of the kinks in order to keep our part of the business somewhat unique, but i started working on our new web styling this week. here were my goals:

• affect the html pages as little as possible (as we have hundreds upon hundreds, so it’ll take some time to adjust each and every one) and do most of the design work via css
• but also try to add/change as little of the css as possible, just to keep it a little less complicated
• and use a flexible layout with the intention of being a little more accessible to mobile devices

so, most of the new styling was applied pretty painlessly (such as a new background color, new typeface, and new header graphics). it wasn’t until i got to the content area until i started having trouble. though making a flexible layout (that would expand or contract depending on the viewer’s browser window size) wasn’t difficult, the two columns i needed within were a little bit fussy. one of my columns (#navigation) needed to be a fixed width, and i wanted the other column to expand or contract as necessary to maintain the design. i spent most of the first day when i was working on this project looking around the internet for a solution, but i just could not find the right resource.

so i tweeted my frustrations and went home. but i continued to think about it all. night. long.

i found flexible layouts with css positioning by dug falby on a list apart, and tried to use the tips in this article.

however, as expressed in comment #7, the css styling in this article placed all the container height importance on one column, #navigation. which brings me to another point i needed to keep in mind with my new layout — most of the content on our sub-pages is defined by the client that “owns” the page. they may have a lot of text explaining their program (in the #copy column), or they may add more related links (in the #navigation column). either way, i needed either of my columns to determine the overall container height, not just my position:absolute column.

having position:relative on my #container and position:absolute on my #navigation column just wasn’t working. i wanted to believe that some css magic had been thought up since the article was written in 2002, but i just couldn’t figure out how to get my #navigation to determine the height of the #container and push my footer elements to the bottom of the page. i got close with a couple other solutions (though i didn’t document them and my memory, even just a few days after all this craziness, isn’t what it used to be), but couldn’t find exactly what i wanted.
i did also try to float my two columns. or at least tried to float the #navigation column, but i had two problems with this simple solution:

1. i would have to move the code of the navigation above the code for my content, which would not be very nice for users of screenreaders or for browsers without css-rendering capabilities.
2. i would have to give my #copy column a fixed size, or somehow try to find the magical minimum and maximum percentage of width to fit both columns in the #container no matter the browser window size. dislike.

however, the next day i found a very succinct example via dynamic drive.

here’s the code i ended up with:

notes:

• overflow:auto was the recommended code, though i found that in ie7, it just added scrollbars to my #wrapper in a smaller browser window. so i changed it to overflow:hidden and that seemed to be a-okay.
• anyone interested in explaining a negative margin to me? i’m not sure why this works or what exactly it’s doing, but i like whatever it is.
• _padding is apparently a fix for ie6? i figured it wouldn’t hurt to have.
• i added display:inline in order to keep #navigation aligned to the right margin of my design in ie7 (without this, it was either falling outside of the margin in small browser window or aligned too far inside of the margin in a larger browser window). why is internet explorer such a pain?

i’m pretty pleased with this solution. it’s a bummer that i had to add another div (the #container that’s around #copy), but i’m sure it would’ve been difficult to find a design solution (that made me happy) that wouldn’t involve moving things a little bit on the html pages, so oh, well. i don’t have to worry about how that’s going to work for another couple months. we will also be adding global navigation within the bar across the top of the design, and figuring out how a few other elements that are optional on the pages will layout. for now: i’m calling this a success with css!