The End

As I reach the end of my online course Exploring the Internet I am definitely sad.  To say I thoroughly enjoyed this course is an understatement, I loved it!  There wasn't a single assignment that wasn't challenging to me and didn't leave me thinking about it days on end.  From deciding what my blog posts would be that week to thinking of new and creative ways to exhibit my web page and learning about different codes and what each one meant and could do to make things easier and look better.  I am so happy I took this course and I am so happy it was the first one I chose to take after taking such a long hiatus from college.  I am looking forward to my next class and my next challenge and I wish everyone the best of luck!  Remember to believe in yourself, even if you have all of the friends and family support you could possibly need there's nothing better than having your own confidence from within.

Lawn Care

So now that the weather has turned to these wonderfully humid days here in south Texas I start looking in my backyard at my lawn.  I know I have mentioned before that we have two medium to large dogs and one of them is running the fence line barking at something on the other side every morning right around the time I put my daughter down for a nap, like CLOCKWORK!  Needless to say the grass back there is non existent so we look to the rest of the lawn which has somehow turned into a big weed patch, dandelions, clovers, etc.  You name it, we have it.  I found a "recipe" online that is supposed to kill grubs and bugs, turn my lawn a rich green color and provide the nutrients that I guess this soil is lacking.  Soil?  Who has soil?  We live on rock.  So where does the water go when it rains? Nowhere....it sits in large swampy areas in my back yard for days, attracting those lovely mosquito's and you know what they say, everything is bigger in Texas.  Well I have yet to mix this concoction and spray it down on my lawn, I mean it can't hurt can it?  It involves mouthwash, ammonia, beer (woo hoo!), dish washing soap and soda or pop as they call it here.  I can't wait to see what happens, worse comes to worse I'll have a clean, minty fresh lawn with a buzz.

My idea for a web application

An idea I had for a web application that I have seen used as a desktop application would have to do with hair. There is nothing worse than going to a new stylist and walking out the door with empty pockets and exactly the opposite of what you wanted whether it be the wrong cut, the wrong color or both. If there was a website with a list of salons near you and within the listed salon a description of each stylist WITH pictures of past clients hair color and/or cuts. I am new to Texas, well fairly new and I have my hair colored (obviously! haha - I know shocker!) and I went through many different stylists in many different salons before finding one I liked which was just recently, after almost TWO YEARS! Anyways, I thought this could be helpful for men and women.

I received one comment so far on my idea:

 I think this would be awesome for male haircuts too. The same system could be set up for men and how they want to cut their hair. I know that going to a regular salon/barber usually is over priced and the hair cut takes about 10 minutes. There are other places that I go to that take almost 45 minutes for a "fade" or another type of cut. Great idea!

Using jQuery to Create Interactive Web Pages

At first this assignment was very interesting and not difficult for me to master, that is until I got to the part where the background turns green and the square boxes are supposed to be able to move around.  I must have had the spacing wrong while editing the HTML on my blog because these two actions just would not work for me.  After trying and trying though I finally got it and I'm glad that I didn't give up on it because it feels great knowing that you overcame that obstacle.  I think what you are able to do with jQuery is very interesting and opens up a whole new world of options as far as designing your own web page.  This is definitely something I would use if I needed to design my own.  What helps me the most in completing these assignments are the video tutorials and being able to follow along with what the instructor is doing on them.

Do-it-yourself(er)

I'm not even sure that title I just used is actually a word, do-it-yourself(er), well there is no red line underneath it so I guess I'm safe.  I love fixing things around the house and pretty much just maintaining our house.  Do I have the time to do this? No.  Today I got up early, showered and dressed before my daughter woke up so I would have time to do a few things when she went down for her morning nap.  These things include: Fixing her play set in the back yard (I had to put two screws in, I know, HUGE!), trimming the bushes and weeding outside, raking up said weeds and leaves leftover from one of the past winters here in Texas and oh yes, removing caulking and re-caulking the shower.  I got the play set fixed and then for some reason I decided to tackle the shower caulking job.  WHYYYYYYY?  Talk about opening a can of worms, I had no idea.  First of all, should I even be holding a razor that size to cut out the old caulking?  I'm ok with it, but the more I work with it the more I feel how sore my back and legs are from soccer yesterday (10-1 win!! woo hoo).  Am I supposed to be laying on the outside of the shower and working upside down?  The shower isn't that big and it's still wet, I probably should have dried it first.  This is just a small sample of how my do-it-yourself projects go.  I usually start something then realize, oh, I should do that too!  Which is why I'm sitting here typing a blog for my class.  Is that called ADD?  Suffice it to say I'll be making a trip to Home Depot or Lowe's when my daughter wakes up to ask someone how I should be trying to tackle this project which is what I should have done in the first place!  Stay tuned for more attempts at my do-it-yourself projects, the dryer vent on the roof needs cleaning too!

Creating Interactive Web pages

Like all of my other assignments in the Exploring the Internet class I was eager to learn a new skill in regards to Web pages.  I sat and listened to the videos and worked along side them on my own interactive web page, step by step.  In the end I was happy to see that it worked the way it was supposed to, much to my relief.  I wasn't afraid of being stuck on this project, I knew it would be time consuming as I was trying to complete in while my daughter was napping and I still had a million other things to do that day.  I love when something clicks in your head and you just get it, I wish everything I tried to figure out worked as easy as that!  I had no idea that javascript was the language that was used to create buttons on websites that allowed you to receive responses and I'm happy to say I was delighted when the window popped up that said Hello Erin.  I'm so easily amused!!!!

My Idea for an Interactive Website

If I were to create an interactive web page I would try to develop some kind of activity page for children. The issue I have with my 14 month old is trying to find classes for her to take and things to keep her busy, challenged and interacting with other children her age. If there was a website that listed not only all of the activities in the area but the age of the children attending the classes and how many children attended. Maybe have someone updating it as the children entered the class so someone could go onto this website, see a class they might like their child to attend and look to see what other children are there and what their ages are. I wouldn't want to get all the way to a music class for my daughter and find out there was only one other child there in the class, kind of a waste of time.