I have officially lost my mind. It's in the wind somewhere, possibly in Hawaii where I will be in a week's time. I know I promised a coding post and perhaps I'll get to it on Thursday. But I am spending so much time just trying to keep my head on, my phone in my purse and my keys located not to mention actual work. It's about my limit. It is my limit.

But that being said, I'm finally excited about getting married. In a week and a half I'll be a Mrs. Mrs. Loml. I'll be in Hawaii and relaxing. Not worrying about a thing. I cannot wait.

I hope to manage some posts while in Hawaii. Perhaps just an image or two. I promise not to rub it in too much.

Coding introduction

I realize I shouldn't just splat: start in with a coding post. So here's my introduction of who I am and how and what I develop. I'm Katie. I had a quarter life crisis at 23 and decided to get a grad degree in "computers". My only knowledge of "computers" was because of this here blog. In fact, I just got distracted going back to the archives in 2005 to read about my decision to go to grad school and quit my job (I was a much better writer back then and so confused about life). Grad school showed me I love coding. I got a student job when someone took a chance on me and I've been coding ever since.

My first language was java. My second C#. After that I was working in legacy VB and old ASP. Some asp.net and C# when it was available. My student intern gig was promoted to full time. My department reorganized and I was a nobody floating in a sea of peoplesoft and .net developers. SharePoint was picked as our new CMS and 10 sites were slotted to beta in 2007...no one else wanted to do it so it fell on me. And I've been a SharePoint developer ever since. I think you could say my sharp languages are currently javascript, C#, XSL and HTML at this point. And the SharePoint crap. Aside: i've dabbled in ruby on rails and python for funsies.

We use SharePoint at my organization in two main ways: front end websites and collaboration team sites. The team sites are cut and dry - no one really does much to them, development-wise. But the front end stuff is highly customized. We're in the process of reworking our front-end framework to be responsive. It is a challenge - not only is it hard to design a responsive site, but it's even harder to force SharePoint to respond in the way it should. Speed has to be fast (so that mobile devices with a bad connection have a great experience). We need the SharePoint editing tools themselves to still work, but at the same time to be creating HTML5. We need so much to be different than what SharePoint provides. Aside number two, I have a coworker who does all of the design work while I work with all the code doing fun stuff like minimizing HTTP requests and tricking SharePoint into not formatting pages by using tables. He writes CSS but no javascript, so that front-end dynamism is my bag too.

So what I'm going to be putting on this blog is weird stuff I've found in SharePoint as I've gone along. Stuff we've coded that I haven't been able to blatantly rip off of the internet (most development issues/questions are answered by google and Stack Overflow). And I'm going to try to start building a git profile for myself. We do interesting things and we should share them with the world.

If you don't know what any of this stuff I'm saying means, but you want to, let me point you to a few places. If you don't know what it means and don't want to, well, why are you still reading?

Responsive design, to me, is synonymous with Ethan Marcotte. Go to his site or read his book. I own it if you want to borrow it.

SharePoint is...a beast of a CMS. Oh, I guess I should say, a CMS is a content management system. I spend a lot of time on msdn most days, so I might as well link there.

GitHub is a collaborative code sharing community. I've used a lot of git stuff in my life. Probably the first code sample I'll share with you is inspired by a PHP git.

HTML5 and CSS3 are really what makes this responsive stuff possible. New standards that we developers live by. Not sure where to link for those except, you should just go read all of the A Book Apart books. Have them all, will loan.

Stack Overflow is a development help site/forum/thingy. Can be troll-y but usually is super helpful. Example question.

Things on my mind today:

• How do I make it easy for normal people to insert an image using sharepoint that is also captioned and responsive?
• Suits & Ties and Justin Timberlake
• Career. Coding. Coding. Career. Management. Career. Frown face.
• How can i get myself to drink more water during the day?
• Will i have a massive pimple on my wedding day? I'm close to breaking out...it seems an unfortunate possibility...
• Bane's voice is dumb. So is Batman's. But catwoman is hot (will she bang batman? Is Joseph Gordon Levitt Robin?). We're watching Dark Knight Rises right now, perhaps I'll have these answers before the end? 
• Hawaii, 15 days! Screee!
• First coding post on Thursday? I'm thinking about it...

I'm in love with my fitbit. I received an ultra for Christmas and it is AWESOME. Basically it's a little step counter that I wear at my waist. And actually I'm a first adopter because they just announced a wrist band instead of a little clippy guy. I hear the wrist band doesn't show a step count actively and I need that step count on the click of a button to spur me to take more steps. But listen - it might be the gamer in me - I have started walking at lunch because my step count is below what I feel it should be. Fitbit automatically sets a goal of 10,000 steps a day...and my first day back in the real world I only hit 6,000 (holiday/vacation days don't count as I am a motionless lump). After walking a bit every day at lunch I'm getting closer to 10, though to be fair, even with a 20 minute walk I'm currently at 8512 steps.

It also tracks my sleep - I can wear it on my wrist and it tells me how often I'm highly active every night (the answer is about 5 times on a good night...more on a really tossing/turning night). The night before I got sick (we had a touch of the flu in the house) it cataloged my really poor sleep for me. At this point I'm not wearing it to bed every night - it was interesting for a few nights and then it was basically the same. I will admit that it was a fun measure of what time loml gets in bed every night.

So yes, tracking my steps has been awesome. And maybe even neater for me is my fitbit scale. That's right, my scale - my weight and fat percentage is beamed via my fancy wifi scale to my fitbit account and I can track my progress online. See how active I am, what my weight is, how many steps I climbed. All with little to no effort on my part (I clip my fitbit on every day. That is the extent of my effort).

I have a streak of statistical mathy nerd in me - charts and percentages really make me happy (you should see my RSVP document for our wedding, it calculates all kinds of things, for fun). So the fitbit is right up my alley. Do recommend.

Umba! Remember when I was chronicling the monthly handmade goodies I received? Lo 6 months ago? We're back - and sadly, those packages in between are lost to you forever. Things I remember getting: picture album (for instagram pics), weird magnet vase (that has since been donated) and clothespin magnets (on the fridge). I can't remember what else. But forget all those missing months, what did I get this month?

Pear cobbler chapstick!

This stuff has a pretty strong smell - of like...creme brulee? It feels nice, but I'm not sure about the smell. From Live Beautifully.

Coaster desk calendar!

I unabashedly love and am delighted by this calendar. I generally like calendars - I have one hanging in my cube (of pictures by my brother in law of our family trip to Canada) already but needed a desk size calendar. And it came in the mail as a surprise! Bonus! Happy 2013 Umba! By Sugarcube Press.

These last few weeks, besides being on holiday, I've also been tying up all of the loose ends for two weddings (a ceremony + dinner in Hawaii and a party in Chicago). I have planners for both, so I know I'm super lucky and a lot less busy than some brides/grooms. Loml is also OK about helping (though often he does it grudgingly and without opinions). For some things I don't really have opinions either. I want to have a fun party - but the details are less important to me than I expected them to be. I really thought I would be super opinionated about flowers and linens and look/feel - maybe a baby bridezilla with that stuff. But it turns out I don't care that much. Hopefully it'll turn out great.

And while that's a lot of big words, I am trying to coach myself that if something isn't like I imagined it..to not freak out. On the day of my wedding and the day of my wedding reception, I want to just be happy and ready to party. And worrying about being social rather than details (as in, I don't really like crowds and especially crowds where I am the center of attention. Groan). I already am prepared to not really talk to anyone for any length of time in Chicago. Five hours with 300 people = very little time for talking to any one of them..

2013

Do I say this every year? I'm not sure, but I'd very much like to commit to writing a blog post twice a week this year. I often will have nothing to say - but in the absence of content, perhaps I can find silliness here again. Do I even have any readers? Debatable. Currently I'm planning on a Tuesday/Thursday schedule. See you again tomorrow!

This year I also want to start blogging about actual code. I am a developer for a living and sometimes we actually do cool things. Eventually I'd like to move any content to a coding blog, but I'm not convinced I am disciplined enough to write about code often enough to actually have a dedicated coding blog. So there will be a trial run or two here.

I'm currently home sick - I was actually bragging about how I rarely get sick to a friend a few weeks ago. I guess I deserve this uncomfortable cold? Lots of snot and hot/tired eyes over here today. Day 5 of this cold - hopefully the last.

Umba time! This month I received two handmade goodies. I already wore one today to see if I liked it/could pull it off (I think it went OK).

The bracelet is actually a double length, but in this color. By the pink ruffle. You should know that this bracelet is super soft. Like, insanely soft. Yellow isn't my favorite, but I think I will find uses for this every now and again.

Sadly for you, my next goody isn't represented on the web. So this picture is straight out of my phone. Sorry for the quality.

Six key notecards! Very delightful addition to my stationery collection. From Fourteen-Forty.

Solid, usable month. Umba love.

Its been a really long time since I blogged anything of substance. Umba and crafting are awesome (and I truly love them both). But I've been so busy lately that I haven't done any crafting. And the truth is, this will continue straight through to September I think. So what has taken up my weekends (most weeknights I struggle to do one constructive thing and lately that has been cleaning or yard work or cooking)?

• I went to Boston for a conference. I really liked Boston and have officially added it to the places I could see myself living. Also on the list? Chicago.
• Spent some time with my mom shopping for furniture and learning to decorate cakes.
• Birthday party for a bestie.
• Cleaning the house after we got central air installed (lots of holes drilled into the ceiling = a layer of dust everywhere). And then I decided the house needed a complete rearranging. Really we just swapped furniture between two rooms. Sounds pretty innocent and easy..except I tried to go through everything in those rooms. Goodwill benefited greatly. This has taken up a large chunk of my time over the past few weeks.

And what do I have coming up?

• Trip to Madison.
• Trip to Indiana.
• First wedding dress session with the couture ladies
• Rocky Mountain train trip!
• Trip to Salt Lake City.
• Trip to Wisconsin to stand up in a wedding.

That puts us into the middle of September. There are a few weekends scattered throughout with no plans. I hope to do absolutely nothing on those occasions. 

I'm a tiny bit hungover (in an, I had one and a half drinks and stayed up too late way), so I'll leave you with this tired thought:

I really love Disney World. And I also kind of love Vegas. So does this mean I love fakeness? Fakity? Fakosity?

umba!

Another month, another umba box. For some reason this month didn't knock me off my socks like most months do. I guess that was to be expected, eventually. However, I did end up with a lovely necklace and some lollipops to try so it's completely still a winner of an "of the month" club.

Necklace from Lucid. To be honest, I have a hard time linking you to that site because it's kind of poorly done. I tried to search in the email subscription box. Then when I did find the actual search, all the links that the search was providing were broken. Throwing ugly asp.net errors. So be warned, this website is not awesome. The necklace is small, delicate, with a very short chain. I'm certain I won't be wearing it regularly (as I still mostly avoid gold), but it is nice to have that little bit of difference in my jewelry box.

Lollipops! From The Candied Flower. They're really pretty - if you need a favor for some kind of shower, these in a bunch with a ribbon - fantastic! I received two flavors - Mojito and Citrus. I have yet to try either, I'm saving them for a business trip. You can likely find me in O'Hare or Logan sucking on one of these. If they're truly gross, I'll update here. However, I expect them to be tasty.

Not the most inspiring month...but any surprise present in the mail is better than none. Happy June!

Quick post. I made Mothers Day cards this year. Since I sort of have a mother-in-law (mother-in-law-to-be?), I thought this was the year to start giving her cards. I hope neither mom will be insulted, but I made the same card with very slight variations (different colors/different embossing on the inside). For the moms:

front

inside - with microsoft paint half-assed
photoshopping...so you can't see my
personal note. :)

When I said I've been mostly doing nothing...that was a lie. A nice little white lie, but a lie. I've been busy wedding planning (pretty much done) and sewing. Knitting has stalled. I broke a needle on the project I was working on -like an idiot, i tried to put on the sock while I was still knitting it (it looked way small) and crack went the needle. So this is a sewing update for you!

First, I finished my set of potholders. I got much better at piecing and quilting lines. I'm pretty much at the same skill level with the binding (not terrible but not smooth and perfect). And I wound up with a potholder I'd call my favorite! I actually love one of them. This one:

i think the chevron lining worked fantastically with the squares

 And here's the full set. Remember, I screwed up my measuring/seams on the first one I did...which is why it is small in comparison.

I spent a chunk of hours cutting out all of the squares for a second set of potholders, to be made for my sister and her husband:

In other sewing news, I spent one full day butchering a set of curtains my mom had made for my old apartment. You can see them in said apartment (sort of) in a picture here. Those windows were huge: tall and wide...and those curtains didn't really fit anywhere in the house. We were/are using them on basement windows to "hide" all of loml's music gear from would-be robbers (his paranoia, not mine). But they were huge for the windows. So I cut up one curtain to make three for basement windows and then sewed an insanely basic hem on any cut sides. Basic because eventually I think loml would like to pick his own fabric for those windows. It surprisingly took a long time - for something that sounds so simple.

I also went on two shopping expeditions with a friend to pick out fabric for her housewarming gift: curtains. We bought it last weekend and I'm in the process of deciding on a curtain type..and then I'll begin the insanely scary task of cutting. You can rip out seams...but you can't undo a poor cut. Here's a picture of that fabric in its raw state:

Lots more fun with my sewing machine to come. I'll try to update in parts, rather than in a huge chunk.

Umba box day! Sorry for the lack of posts. I'm busy doing nothing (yay!). This month was another three item spectacular. Still in love.

Two hairpins! A green and a yellow. I love them. They're wooly and cute. I just have to figure out how to use them in my boring, boring hair. Tomorrow I may take a stab at it! From Willow Handmade.

Picture from Willow Handmade etsy site

Lip gloss! Picture below is not the specific version I have - I received Summer (fitting!). It says "scented with Garden Herbs". It feels pretty nice and has a spicy smell. From Stewart & Claire.

Picture from Stewart & Claire blog

Smelly candle! This candle packs a wollop of smell. I don't know how to describe the smell. It's fairly perfume-y. I think I'm going to put it in the bathroom that holds the litter box. The version I got is much smaller than the one on the site (20 hour burn time). From Patch NYC.

Picture from Patch NYC site

I haven't been sure if I should say anything, but I suddenly feel dishonest. So you should know that I'm blogging about my wedding planning on our fairly newly minted wedding website.

Since this blog is super public, I'm not going to give you the URL to that site. But I do invite you all to email me or comment here with an email and request the location of it. I'm likely going to keep the wedding site narrowed to people I know.

I also think it's only fair that if you want wedding stuff to be a "surprise" then you probably shouldn't read the blog.  :)

Umba box does it again! Man I love this little monthly gift SO MUCH.

Awesome, blueberry dish towel. Love the feel of the towel and blueberries. Click through for more pictures. By Tina Produce.

Handmade caramels. Fleur de Sel Caramels. I admit that I am not a caramel lover. But I have a few in my life...and they are going to benefit from this gift. There are three caramels. Loml already ate one lovingly. The other two will be fought over later today or tomorrow by family. By the caramel jar.

Cute little, letterpress cover notebook. I work in technology. And I have a really nice new iPhone. But I still like to write lists and addresses in little notebooks. And I've recently found that I love top spiral notebooks. So this little gift will find much use in my hands. By Paper Lovely.

Seriously, getting my Umba box in the mail is a highlight of my month every month. Just in case I've convinced you to treat yourself: Umba!