If you haven't read Part 1 yet, this post won't be near as interesting...

One month after the egift card ordeal, I got the email! I got two emails actually. The first one looked very similar to the second, the difference being the first email was to notify me that the email had been sent to the egift card recipient. In this case, that was me.

Here's what the egift card email looked like. (I've blurred private info and the Victoria's Secret model so that they don't ask me to take the image down.)

You may be thinking there was a date for delivery box somewhere that I filled out that caused the email to be delayed for a month. Nope.

Keep in mind that I was issued a refund on March 25th. I have to wonder if the egift card is still valid.

On the 14th of March I logged in at victoriassecret.com to purchase an E-Gift Card for someone. The checkout system needed to know who I wanted to send the email to. Since it was a birthday gift, I didn't want them to get it ahead of time. I was also concerned that they may never receive it at their Yahoo email address. So, I used my email address because I knew I'd get it since I have never had an issue receiving email from victoriassecret.com in the past.

The next day, the email for the E-Gift card was still not in my inbox. I emailed them a reply to my order confirmation email and this is what I got back:

Not enough info? I provided my entire order confirmation email. So I emailed them again at about 7pm on the 15th:

Still no E-gift card in my inbox. Instead I get this lovely reply at about 10:30pm on the 15th:

I'd already looked up my order history to see if I could glean anything from that. Nope, nothing. I couldn't see what email address I'd put into the form at checkout or any of the recipient's details. Had I misspelled my own email address? Entirely possible. I emailed them again at about 8:30pm on the 16th:

Hoping for the best I waited for a reply. I waited. I waited some more. By 10am on the 18th still no e-Gift Card and no email reply either! Ugh, I emailed again:

I finally get a reply at almost 4pm on the 18th:

As soon as I received the reply, I responded which was about 7:30pm on the 18th:

Yeah, I'm getting annoyed and a tad snarky. I've had a different Customer Service Rep reply to each of my emails. I'm convinced none of them read the history. Of course, I get a reply from a different person, this time at nearly 10am today (which is the 19th):

Now I'm even more annoyed. She didn't answer my question. So I reply at about 10:30am today.

A nice and quick reply that was actually from the same Rep. as the previous reply came in at about 10:45am today which said:

Hmmm, okay maybe I did type it in wrong? That doesn't make sense, but alright... Why can't they just tell me the email address I entered originally? I'm getting frustrated again, so I write a short email at 11:29am today:

The same Rep. replied again at 11:34am today:

Fine. I give up. I'll call customer service. (I think it is lame that they say to call and in the next breath say I can email. I don't like calling and wish I could do it all in email.)

So here's how the call went... First, the recording states the call may be recorded for quality assurance. Good! I'll let my frustration show so maybe they'll fix this terrible user experience.

The woman who answered was very nice and polite. Based off the phone number I was calling from she already had some of my info in front of her. (That's always a little creepy to me, but cool at the same time.) I explained to her the situation, making mention of how I was not able to get the email address the E-Gift card was originally sent to. She explained that "for security purposes we can't email that information".

WHAT?! I'm the one who placed the order. I can't get that information in my order history or in the email but I can call and get it? It's easier to fake who you are by calling than to prove you're legit by replying from the expected email account or logging in to the website. In my mind, the phone is less secure, but she gave it to me and it was correct. I complained they should at least have said in the email, "For security purposes" etc. I would have called sooner.

She then proceeds to ask me, "Was this a gift?" I said yes, and explained my reasons for having it sent to my email. She then let me know something I never would have expected. She said that the recipient would have to log in from or create an account with my email address in order to redeem the gift card! WHAT?!!!

It's an E-Gift card, should be as simple as entering in a code at checkout to redeem like any other gift card. Right? Yeah, I would think so too but that's not how they do it.

Over the course of my call I gave the lady an earful I'm sure. All the while she was patient as she could be and said she'd pass my frustrations/suggestions along. I'd suggested that the order history let me see who I was emailing to & their email address. I also told her that it isn't that hard for them to do this, and that I would know because I build websites for a living. I even told her I'm not some idiot off the street who doesn't know how these things should work or how they work, that she could Google my name and find out who I am and that I know what I'm talking about when I make these suggestions.

Sidenote: Yikes, I'm not proud of that attitude and I'll probably never be hired to work at VictoriaSecret.com (they're a ColdFusion site and I'd love to work for them to make their site so much better, but it is more unlikely now than ever -- not just for this call but also because of this blog post. Oh well... back to my story.)

In the end, I asked for a refund and she was able to do that quite quickly. I asked her how I could get a gift card that would be usable online. My options were to buy one online and wait 7 to 10 days or get one in a store. Either is usable online.

I thanked her for putting up with me and apologized, "I'm sorry for taking my frustrations out on you. I know how hard it is to be in Customer Service. I hope I didn't ruin your day." She was polite, but I'm sure she was frustrated dealing with me. I honestly feel bad for that.

In the end they'll still get my money. I'll be placing an order on behalf of the gift recipient later tonight. I just can't and won't likely ever buy an E-Gift card because: A) I never got my email and there's no good reason for why I didn't B) I can't have it sent to myself and then print it out and give it to someone or forward it to a friend's email. That's why I think VictoriasSecret.com's E-Gift cards suck. Hopefully my feedback will be received and they'll improve the process. Not that I'll ever know unless someone tells me, since I've no intention of ever buying an EGC from them again. THE END

This Saturday was the Blue & Gold Banquet, where Cub Scouts receive the badge that they've been working towards. My son, Gaetano, received his Bear badge!

When the scout receives his badge, their Akela (that's me in my son's case) pins the badge upside down over their left pocket (close to their heart). When the scout does his first good deed he can turn the badge right side up and it can be permanently attached to their uniform.

Gaetano was with us shopping at HEB and a bunch of those yellow coupons you see hanging everywhere had fallen and scattered on the floor. We were busy shopping to notice them, but Gaetano saw them and picked them up and put them all back on the hook.

At first, I thought he'd knocked them down and was just cleaning up after himself. I was ready to scold him for touching them in the first place but he told me they were already on the floor and he was just picking them up. Awwww, he did a good deed! :-) Tonight, I'll have him help me put his patch on his uniform.

The following are some statistics from the back of the program from the Blue & Gold Banquet that I thought you might find interesting. Keep in mind that Gaetano is a Cub Scout, not a Boy Scout. Gaetano is a Bear now, and has Weblos 1 and Weblos 2 to complete before entering the Boy Scouts in the 6th grade. As you read through these facts, keep in mind that with every year that passes in scouting, the next level brings more advanced achievements and greater commitment.

Gaetano tells us that he'd like to go all the way to Eagle Scouts. I would be so proud. As his Akela, I promise to do my best to help him reach his goal.

Though Gaetano looks like he's laughing in the photo on the right, he's actually doing his impression of his sister crying like babies do. That's my goofball! I love my Bear cub and look forward to more good times with scouting.

My membership in the 2009 Adobe Community Experts program has been renewed. Dan's has too. (He's sure got a way with words; I'm so boring.)

I'm honored to be part of the program. Thanks Adobe!

Earlier tonight my son asked me, "Mom? Does Adobe.com sell like a whole bunch of different colors and kinds of clay or something?"

Oh the innocence of youth. You know, I once thought the very same thing of Adobe itself -- back then there was no ".com" to speak of. I always thought that Macromedia was a better name and still do. Adobe clearly had a brand name with a larger market penetration so they made the right choice keeping their name.

At any rate, his question helped to remind me that intuitive naming isn't absolutely critical to success. I for one prefer intuitive names, but that would just make sense. ;-)

Tonight's last minute dinner decision was Broccoli Potato Cheese Soup w/ Beer Bread. There's no secret to the beer bread; it's just Archer Farm's (from Target) Beer Bread, for which I used Shiner Black.

I've made up several recipes for (broccoli) potato cheese soup over the years. How I make it on any given day/night is largely determined by how much time I have and what ingredients I have on hand. Tonight's recipe was the quickest and easiest of all my potato cheese recipes.

Total prep time & cook time: 25 minutes (which includes washing the broccoli and cutting the florets off a head of broccoli)

Here's the recipe:

1 box (4 cups) Organic Chicken Broth 1 can Campbell's Cheddar Cheese Soup 4 oz. Five Cheese (Provolone, Mozzarella, Asiago, Romano, and Parmesan) shredded Kraft Cheese 2 cups Potato Buds 3 oz. Shiner Black beer 2 oz. water 3 cups broccoli florets (2 cups is okay if you prefer less) 1/2 teaspoon Lawry's salt 1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon White Pepper, however much you prefer

Directions: In a 3 quart pan, heat the chicken broth. Once the broth is boiling, add the Broccoli. As it is boiling I added the Lawry's, Garlic Powder, and White Pepper. Cook broccoli to desired tenderness. (I like it to be softer rather than crunchy in a soup. Boiling about 8 minutes should do.)

Measure 1 cup of the Potato buds. Moisten the Potato Buds with the 2 oz. of water and the 3 oz. of beer. Stir it up real good until all the flakes have dissolved.

By now your broccoli is done, so with a slotted spoon, remove it from the pan and set it aside in a dish.

Add the Potato Buds mixture to the boiling broth and stir to dissolve it. While still stirring, add the remaining 1 cup of Potato Buds to the soup. Don't stop stirring! Stir it until the flakes are dissolved then remove it from the heat.

Open up the can of cheddar cheese soup and pour that into the pan. Stir that up until the cheese is no longer identifiable. Add the shredded cheese and place it back on the burner on medium heat. Stir it well until the shredded cheese is good and dissolved.

Last but not least, add the broccoli back to the soup and stir it just enough to mix it in.

If you really love cheese, you can serve it with some shredded cheese (Five Cheese or cheddar) on top.

Tonight I made a quick-n-easy vanilla ice cream. I made this up on the fly, no printed recipe. (I do that a lot; I make up recipes on the fly but write 'em down so I don't forget.)

Total prep time about 30 minutes, but the wait time is 12 hours after putting it in the freezer.

Update: I accidentally said whole milk. Turned out I used 2% Milk (Horizon Organic to be exact). Sorry about that! I'm sure whole milk would do fine though.

Here's the recipe:

1 pint (which is 2 cups) Heavy Whipping Cream 1 cup whole 2% milk 1 can Borden sweetened condensed milk 3 teaspoons vanilla bean paste 1/2 cup sugar

While the whipping cream was being whisked on high in the mixer, I measured the 1 cup of milk in a 4 cup capacity measuring cup.

Next, I added the rest of the ingredients to the measuring cup and stirred it up until the sweetened condensed milk was all dissolved.

By then the heavy whipping cream was completely aerated into a nice thick whipped cream. I added the mixture slowly (about 30 seconds of pouring) from the measuring cup into the mixer. I let it mix for another 30 seconds.

Then I transferred the mixture to the ice cream attachment of the KitcheAid and let it mix until it got good and thick.

Last but not least, avoid the temptation of eating it all and put it in a container in the freezer for at least 12 hours.

The result is a nice french vanilla sweet cream.

I often listen to XMKids in the car with Gaetano. There's a hilarious song by Anita Renfroe called Momisms that comes on every so often. Gaetano doesn't seem to appreciate it near as much as I do of course.

I love Momisms more each time I hear it and thought why not share it here on my blog. Enjoy!

And for those of you wondering if there are any Dadisms, well Anita's got this for you:

Cub Scouts only have one fundraiser per year and that's popcorn. We need your support to help keep things running smoothly for our boys. Please take a moment to at least consider a purchase today, even if you don't eat popcorn -- you can always send some popcorn to our troops (keep reading to find out how).

To support my son's Cub Scout den, please click on OrderPopCorn.com which will take you to http://www.orderpopcorn.com/Store/Catalog/Default.aspx. Enter your Entry Order Key TEJE3AX. The screen should say Welcome you are supporting Den 11 Gaetano B. and that's it; just browse to find the popcorn you'd like to order.

You'll find there's an option to send a popcorn tin to our troops for $25. What a great gift and way to show your support for our men and women of the military.

Thanks for your support!

Oops, I missed a closing quotation mark and part of my post announcing our engagement was cut off. If you're interested, the paragraph starting with "Dan has posted" is where it got cut off. Here's a link for you to make it easier: http://www.dwmommy.com/?day=9/11/2008 Sorry about that folks!

On the way home from school yesterday, my son decided to ask me a question. Here's our conversation for your reading pleasure.

Gaetano: Mom, how much does a jet pack cost?

Me: A what? A jet pack? (I know what a jet pack is, I was just caught off guard since his question came out of nowhere.)

Gaetano: Yeah, you know the ones you wear to make you fly.

Me: Yeah, I know what a jet pack is. Well, you know I'm not sure. I'm not even sure there is such thing as a real jet pack. If there is, I'm sure it costs a lot of money.

Gaetano: You mean like 50 bucks?

Me: No, probably more like 5,000 dollars. I don't know, maybe more.

Gaetano: That's a rip off!

Me: Well when things are new they usually cost more until enough people have them and then they cost a lot less.

Gaetano: Maybe you could look it up on Google when we get home. I don't know why they would cost that much. I can make a jet pack!

Me: Oh really? You think it is just that easy?

Gaetano: Sure! I can make a jet pack. You just make the thing and put straps on it so you can put it on your back like a backpack, but I don't know how to make the flames part.

Me: Don't you think "the flames part" is important?

Gaetano: What? (He didn't understand what I was getting at.)

Me: Well, don't you think the flames are important? Isn't that what makes it fly?

Gaetano: Ooooh, yeah.

Me: So don't you think making the flames is complicated? I mean, if you're going to wear a jet pack they have to make it safe -- so the flames don't burn your butt.

By then we'd just pulled into the driveway. Gaetano was laughing hysterically. I'm guessing he was laughing that hard because of the imagery, but also because its not every day he hears mom say "butt".

If it weren't for Dan telling me about the guy who crossed the English Channel today I would not have blogged this.

According to the article, this jet-wing (jet pack) costs $190,000. Boy, I was way off! When I get Gaetano home from school today I'll be sure to show him the video. He'll surely get a kick out of it. I bet he'll say he looks like Buzz Lightyear too, probably right after he exclaims that $190,000 is a "rip off" too.

Nope, we're not buying an RV... Yep, it is true; earlier today Dan asked me to marry him! (A few weeks ago, he quite jokingly asked me in a very thick southern accent, "Wanna git hitched?" To which I said, "Not when you ask me like that!" Hence, the title of this blog post.)

Everyone's been asking me, "How'd he propose?" so I'll fill you in...

I just returned yesterday from 10 days in California, so I was totally worn out. It was a little after 10am this morning when he came in to try and wake me up (again). I was just not wanting to wake up at all. I was thoroughly exhausted. Dan said, "While you were gone I bought something that should help you wake up." He pulled the ring out of his pocket and presented it to me.

I was so bleary-eyed that I could barely make out that it was a ring, let alone what shape stone it was. It did the trick though; it woke me up! I had to stare at it a moment, to make sure I was really awake and not just dreaming it. Then Dan said, "So do you want it?"

I said, "Well yeah, but you haven't asked me to marry you yet!" Dan said, "Oh yeah... Will you marry me?" Of course I said, "Yeah!" [So technically speaking, his blog post is slightly inaccurate, since I didn't say "yes" -- I said "yeah". ;-)]

Dan has posted a picture of the ring on his blog. I know, its HUGE! Those who have seen photos already can't seem to tell by the picture if it is silver or gold, it's a platinum cathedral setting and simply gorgeous.

Gaetano is thrilled. He keeps telling me how excited he is that Dan is going to be his stepdad and that he's so happy for me.

No news on a date or anything else yet. I'm sure we'll blog it when we've made some decisions.

Last night I got home and found I'd forgotten to plug in the power to my MacBook Pro and left it on without putting it to sleep. That's happened before; it usually just shuts down on its own.

This time, it went to sleep on its own but the screen looked like it was on a psychedelic journey of some sort. All sorts of shapes everywhere and they seemed to be enlarged portions of apps I had open earlier. Some were even flipped upside down and even stranger, they were skewed to appear as if they were angled back and away from me (think hallways in really old computer games).

I woke it from sleep and as I moved my mouse the screen would sometimes redraw a little, but nothing got any better. I took some video, and pulled some screenshots from it. The first is what it looked like shortly after I woke it up.

I tried hooking up another monitor to it, but that didn't have the desired effect. So I used command+tab to move through applications (all by guesswork since the screen would update to more garbled mess) and I would press command+Q to quit the apps. Sometimes I held command+W to close windows, just for good measure. I was working blindly after all, so who knows what it was doing.

I tried clicking in the upper left where the Apple logo would be, and it seemed a rectangle appeared that would be the submenu. So I put my mouse where Log Out should have been but that didn't work. I tried the keyboard shortcut too to no avail. So in the end I had to resort to pressing the button and hoping for the best.

Much to my surprise it started back up normally, thank goodness!

Hopefully that never happens again... It was quite scary to think I may have to travel on Tuesday for 2 weeks and not have a laptop with me all that time.

I was hoping to be twitterpated like most Twitter fanatics seem to be, but instead I'm twittervated.

If you laughed at this at all, you can so relate!

I've tweeted from twitter's home page in Firefox 2, Opera 9 and Safari 2. None of my tweets today are showing up.

Now its "over capacity".

Ugh, as a twitter newbie I'm so not impressed...

Happy National Regex Day!

To celebrate I'd like to share some tips for working with Regular Expressions that have helped me over the years I've been using them. I've got 5 tips to share today (#1 is already in the post on Ben Nadel's blog that I linked to but thought it worthwhile to repeat here, sorry if it is a dupe for you...)

Tip #1, for Dreamweaver Users: If you're a Dreamweaver user and need to build a regular expression, start learning about the Server Behavior Builder. When you create a server behavior, Dreamweaver generates a regular expression to match the code block(s). If you're in a hurry (or especially if you're just learning regular expressions), the regexes Dreamweaver generates can be a good starting point. You'll find the regexes it generates are in your user's Configuration in .edml files (which are XML files).

Tip #2, for CFEclipse users (assuming this works in other flavors of Eclipse as well): When you use the Search dialog (ctrl+H on the Mac), there's the obvious Regular Expression checkbox. With your focus in the Containing Text field, press Ctrl+Space to get a handy regex cheat sheet.

Tip #3, a Workflow Tip: When trying to come up with that perfect regex, take the time to build a static page or two that has what you want to match in it. Essentially, create a use case document. Then use your favorite regex capable Find and Replace tool to work up to creating the perfect regex. For instance, if you have a huge string to match, start by trying to match only the first 5 characters then add on to your regex and test again. When you've got it matching your use cases, then go ahead and plug it into your ColdFusion or JavaScript code (you don't use other code right? ;-))

Tip #4, Debugging Regular Expressions: You'll most likely find yourself debugging a regex at some point or another, and for me its usually because I missed a use case. (That's when its time to update the use case document.) Any time I've got a regex that isn't quite working right, I trim it back. In other words, I do the opposite of what I described in the first part of my workflow tip above. Stop trying to match what you really want to match in its entirety, take a bit away from the regex at a time until it starts matching your use case file. (If you didn't make a use case file, now is the time to do it!) Then build that regex back up again little by little until you have it matching everything you want.

Tip #5, Application Comments: In the case of using a regex in an application (versus in Find and Replace), always, always make a comment on what that regex means in plain English terms and why you need to use it in the first place. Sooner or later, someone will look at the regex and quite possibly have their eyes glaze over -- it could be you! So do yourself and others a favor and take a couple minutes to comment it. If you're extra geeky you'll have your comment refer to your use case file so they can actually see exactly what the heck that fancy string of characters is supposed to match.

A few weeks ago I posted about needing to wrap text in a CFGRID's cell. (Read the original posted that I just updated...)

The code I provided didn't work in IE (figures!) but I've since added display:block; to the rule and it works for me...

Here it is, new and improved:

div .x-grid-cell-text{white-space:normal;display:block;}

I'm interested in hearing if anyone has a better fix, or if this doesn't work right for some use case or browser.

Note to self: I am not a Rock Star. I should never attempt to kick like one (again).

Note to anyone over 30: Learn from the above. Repeat it at least 3 times.

Note to anyone who kicked anyway despite the above: Epsom salt baths help with sore muscles.

I Googled. I googled some more. I found lots of blogs where people asked in the comments how to wrap text in a CFGRID tag, but either no answer was given or the format was Flash.

Well, for the sanity of those on the same mission I was on, I shall blog the solution that satisfied my quest. (It may or may not satisfy yours depending on what you're trying to achieve.)

A simple line of CSS did the trick in my use case:

div .x-grid-cell-text{white-space:normal;}

UPDATE: To fix IE, add display:block; to the rule above.

That's it, one line of CSS. Hope it helps!

It's true; Adobe sells ColdFusion. In fact, they have for a few years now. Ever since they acquired Macromedia.

Gotcha...Just like last time.

For the last few weeks there's been a lot of buzz about IE8 and how Microsoft intended to make IE7 the default display as not to break existing websites. Recently Microsoft decided to go ahead and render IE8 as itself and many seem to be relieved. I am still skeptical...

I've been meaning to blog on this topic, but I honestly haven't had time to keep up with all the online chatter about it and hence was unsure I should bother. Perhaps what I have to say has been said before? Oh well, I'm going to say it anyway...

What I haven't yet seen talked about is the possibility that a dot release -- or even a full version -- of IE may be incompatible with a website, leaving the web developer wanting to 'skip' it somehow.

The proposed "version targeting" would allow someone to declare the site's compatibility with a specific version of IE so that it would render as that version, despite what the user had installed on their system. For example, the user has IE 15, but the web developer declared IE 7. The IE 15 user is stuck looking at an IE 7 site.

That seems to be the common example that raises all sorts of concerns about the web, user experience, standards and what have you. But what if...

What if IE 9 renders my site perfectly, but IE 9.1 doesn't. IE 9.2 is also perfect. Fixing IE 9.1 would take 40 hours of work and my client doesn't want to do it. Shouldn't I be able to skip IE 9.1 somehow?

Please don't try to tell me that sort of thing doesn't happen. It's happened to me with other software. (Safari being one and QuickTime being another.) So it is fair to say that Microsoft could release a version (be it major or minor) of IE that I don't want to support.

All users shouldn't be forced to the lowest browser supported by the site. In my mind, users should get the highest browser supported. That is, a browser experience that is equal to or the next lower supported version than what they have installed.

Let's pretend I have a list of versions I support on my website that looks like this:

7,8,9,9.2,9.3

Let's say the user has 9.1 installed. I don't support it, they should get the 9 experience.

How does version targeting propose to handle such a situation? Is it something anyone has even though about or discussed? I don't know, and if Google knows it hasn't pointed me there yet.

So therefore I blog, in hopes to spark some conversation be it in my blog's comments or on other blogs.

I have few other odd-ball ideas around this topic but I'll start with this one and see where it goes before revealing more of my wacky thoughts...

"There's something in the air."

There seems to be a bunch of rumors out there about what tomorrow's MacWorld keynote will announce. Among the more popular rumors is that a super small/tiny/thin notebook will be revealed.

I say it's going to be Smell-O-Vision via Apple TV -- now that would be something in the air!

It's been roughly 3 months since my last blog. I was almost afraid I've forgotten how! (I forgot my username and password; it took three tries to get in.)

There's good reason to come out of my unintended hiding I've been living in the last few months... I was reading Eric's blog and came across a post he made that stirred up quite a fuss.

Really, I'm not that surprised at the reactions. Reading something that Eric writes (or that anyone writes for that matter) is far different than hearing it spoken. Some people are far to easily offended by words, especially when taken out of context...

People are far too busy to read carefully these days and are quick to take a blurb out of context and run with it. I'll resist the temptation to ramble on about this topic.

Bottom line is, if I were as good a writer, I probably would have written the same thing as Eric did on the topic of diversity in conference speakers. I really couldn't have said it better myself and I'm sure just saying this much is enough to make some people mad at me. Oh well, I can't please everyone and not everyone is out to please me either!

I've spoken at quite a few conferences and it bothers me to think that I may have been chosen because I'm a woman. I'd like to think I was chosen because I know the subject matter well and am recognized by my peers, but who knows!

At least I know that if I were to ever be asked to speak at AEA, it won't be because I'm a girl!

Joseph Lowery, and Eric Meyer both have new titles avaialable at lynda.com!

Joe's newest book, Dreamweaver 8 Beyond the Basics is available for sale in the lynda.com store. Check out the three free sample movies from the CD, including one that covers Spry. Spry is the latest big buzz word in the Dreamweaver community. If you haven't checked out Spry yet, Joe's movie is a good place to start.

A few weeks ago, Eric spent some time in Ojai recording CSS Site Design, which is now available in the Online Training Library™ and coming soon on CD-rom in the lynda.com store. There are several Free sample movies available, including the following:

• What is CSS? 5:34 11.8 MB
• Design tour 2:38 4.9 MB
• Installing the Web Developer toolbar 4:34 9 MB
• XHTML essentials 3:55 3.1 MB
• CSS essentials 5:17 4.1 MB
• Embedded style sheets 2:20 4.7 MB

If you haven't made the switch from Freehand to Illustrator yet because you've been putting off learning a different application, there's help. Today lynda.com released Migrating from Freehand to Illustrator. There are a few free movies you can check out, but to get them all you'll need to subscribe to the lynda.com Online Training Library™ because this title is an exclusive; there won't be a CD.

I've been really bad about responding to blog comments lately, I'm sorry! I'm all caught up now though... Thanks to all of you who posted legitimate comments and well wishes. I truly appreciate it and I'm sorry for not responding sooner!

To those of you who didn't get a response, don't expect one. You were either spamming or trying to get away with looking like you're friendly and sneaking in a link to your site to boost your SEO listings.

FYI, I have to approve all comments and I won't approve a comment if it looks even slightly like it is not sincere. If you include a URL, it may get stripped out unless I know you personally and trust that your link is appropriate. I won't approve any foreign language sites, so don't bother.

Ok, I'm done venting now ;-)

We haven't even moved into the new house yet and Gaetano is already making friends. On Monday, Gaetano met five of the six kids that live across the street from our new house and one of them came by to see if Gaetano could play the very next day. In his little hand was a tiny brown frog!

The neighbors told us that they often have deer in their front yard chewing on plants. Wow! Living in Cedar Park is going to be so cool...

We're here in Austin, TX; we made it! We got in really late, about 12am local time. We've been up workin' since 7 (local time)... Busy week ahead of us.

We've yet to go see the new house, but will take pictures and post a few if we can manage. We don't get our keys until Friday so we're staying with family until then.

That's it for now...

Yesterday we left CA at about 4pm and made it all the way to Tuscon, Arizona... Today, I'm not sure yet how far we'll make it but we'll definitely be in El PasoTexas by this afternoon since that's only a five hour drive. From El Paso to Austin is about a ten hour drive, so we may stop for the night somewhere along the way.

So far, so good... All is going well and Gaetano is enjoying the ride while watching his DVDs. I'll report more when I can. In the meantime, if you need to reach us while we're on the road, we have our cell phones with us and can use them to get online if we need to.

Time for breakfast then its, "on the road again" (sing it with me now...)

I don't know the details, but I heard a little while ago that Bob, my former boss when I worked as an assistant manager at California Grill in Whittier, passed away. He was the owner of the restaurant and my mom's boss for about 10 years, a family friend...

The article I read at the Whittier Daily News describes it as an act of jealousy by a man 87 years old.

It breaks my heart; there's nothing more I can say right now. Rest in peace Bob, you will be missed.

I've been meaning to blog this for a couple of weeks now... Two very popular speakers in the web design/development arena, especially among the Dreamweaver community, Joe Marini and Molly Holzschlag have recently come out with training titles at lynda.com. Joe was one of the original Dreamweaver product engineers and has been an inspiration to many extension developers, myself included. Molly is widely recognized web standards advocate and author.

There are a few free sample movies in each title...Enjoy!

XML Essential Training with: Joe Marini

CSS for Designers with: Andy Clarke and Molly E. Holzschlag

Macromedia, err I mean Adobe, has released Flex 2! It just so happens that lynda.com released Flex 2 Essential Training yesterday and in Chapter 1 there's a free 9 minute movie that answers the question, "What is Flex?". You'll also find a few other free movies in chapter 1, Getting Started.

Enjoy!

I recently autographed about 6 copies of Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004 Killer Tips. The first copy went up on eBay about 10 minutes ago and sold right away.

They're being listed by Five Star Billiards. Hurry, while supplies last...

...that my ex-husband moved back in tonight and is moving to Texas with us. ("Us" in case you weren't aware, means my son, boyfriend and me.) He'll be living in our guest room, until he finds a job.

Go ahead, check your calendar; it isn't April 1st...

If you're a regular reader of my blog, you already know that I've been working for lynda.com since late January of this year. I started out as the Web Interface Architect and have since moved to a new position, Web Production Manager.

We've hired Dan as our Web Application Architect. (If JD can "out" my new job, I can certainly "out" Dan's!)

To those who know both of us, to answer your question... Yes, I am Dan's supervisor. Nope, that's nothing new. ;-)

We're building our web team and are looking to fill a few positions in the Austin, Texas vicinity. Please visit http://www.lynda.com/jobs/ for available openings.

I'm much better now without my tonsils than I was with them, and I'm not entirely healed yet either!

It has taken longer for me to heal because I had a "bleeder" that had to be cauterized. I was in quite a bit of pain, most of which was felt in my left ear and the left side of my throat.

I can breathe much easier without those gigantic tonsils in the way and am looking forward to being totally healed in a few more weeks. I'm going to try a few foods that used to irritate my tonsils and see what happens.

The worst part of the whole tonsil ordeal was seeing the bill that arrived two nights ago. If I didn't have any insurance I'd be worse off than I am now. Instead of my $5k max out of pocket expense, I'd be in debt well over $14k! (I nearly fell over when I saw the bill, no exaggeration.)

I was supposed to get my tonsils out at 7:30am today which means being at the hospital by 5:30am. Turns out my surgery got bumped to 9am, so of course I came back home (so I could blog). I wouldn't have been able to blog this had it been on time because I was too sleepy and running late this morning.

Anyhow...Tonsils come out a 9am today so I should be back by noon. I won't be online for a couple of days, so don't worry if you don't see messages from me.

If you're a worrier, you can check with Dan and he'll let you know how I am doing.

If you've been reading JD's coverage of the MIX06 event in Las Vegas, you now know that I have "joined lynda.com" and have been here at the Venetian for the conference.

It's true; I am now employed by lynda.com and I've been meaning to blog about it but wasn't quite ready to do so. I had the feeling that by being here at this event it would come out, and sure enough it did... I should have blogged it sooner, but oh well. (No worries JD!)

I won't go into any detail now, but I'm sure I'll be blogging more in the future as I'm able to share. I'll probably blog more about the MIX06 experience later too. Lot's to say, but too much to do!

Well folks, it looks like I'll be having my tonsils removed completely. I could do the laser cryptology again, but there's no guarantee it will work and I could be unhappy with how my tonsils feel afterwards.

It took some getting used to how the tonsils felt after the first procedure. The left tonsil wiggles bumping my throat sometimes and it is a bit annoying.

Doing laser cryptology again means that I could be left with part of a tonsil wiggling in the back of my throat. Just the thought of that sounds irritating to me, so bye bye tonsils. I'd rather have them gone completely than potentially have a tonsil flopping around all the time in my throat.

I don't know when the procedure will be yet, but it won't be until late April or early May. Naturally, when I know I will blog...

UPDATE: I get my tonsils out on April 27th at 7:30am PST, outpatient surgery by the same doctor who did the laser cryptology.

Seems like quite a few people end up at my blog for the medical section...go figure! I most often get asked about laser cryptology (usually via comments which I don't make publicly visible, sometimes people hunt down my email address). So, to save everyone the effort, I'm clearing up the most frequently asked questions about my laser cryptology procedure.

1. Where did you get the laser cryptology done? Answer: It was an outpatient procedure done in Fullerton, CA.

2. What kind of doctor does the procedure? Does a dentist do this sort of thing or does it require some special kind of doctor? Answer: My doctor is an ear, nose, and throat surgeon. I believe that's the way to go. I have no idea if other types of doctors or surgeons do this procedure, sorry.

3. Who did the laser cryptology? Who is your doctor? Answer: I saw Dr. Christopher Quilligan from Associated Head & Neck Surgeons. He and the other surgeons in his office have a practices in Brea, Fullerton and Yorba Linda.

Phew! Now I don't have to keep looking up the contact info. I can just refer back to my blog. ;-)

I hope you find this helpful...

In case you're wondering, the procedure helped but it didn't cure the problem for me. I still get the occasional tonsil stone, but the difference is I'm able to get them out myself now. I am considering doing it once more to (hopefully) get rid of the problem for good. It is still annoying and frustrating, but at least it isn't as painful as it was before.

Here's a good example of what happens when a developer sends out a mass email, probably using test data instead of the real date. I "[removed]" the domain name as not to embarass them further. Indeed, I ordered (some headphones) from them 2 years ago.

"Our records indicate that you registered or purchased from our web site www.[removed].com back on 12/31/1969 4:00:00 PM, but we haven't heard from you since then."

First, I was born in 1975. Second, if anyone ever ordered online from them in 1969...well, I think it just goes without saying.

Just sharing this because I found the date to be pretty funny... However, it does remind me that when creating a mass email, one should test, test, test and test some more. Then get some sleep and test even more before the real thing!

The bottom line when it comes to working with templates, is that where there's a will there's a way. (This applies to most anything in life in my opinion and I've found it to be the truth for the most part.)

Huh? What am I talking about? Patience dear blog reader...

In my observation, it seems that so many people find themselves in situations where templates don't seem to be able to do what they're after. Often I've heard people say that they feel overly constrained by how templates work and that they find templates unusable. Anytime that I witness this type of situation (usually on the newsgroups I visit), I feel compelled to try and help. Unfortunately these questions are often complicated and I just can't spare the time to help out like I'd like.

It is my hope that this blog post helps someone struggling with templates in Dreamweaver...

All I really have to say is that I've struggled too and when it comes to templates I've yet to find something that's completely stumped me that I can't make work for the site's needs. Sometimes, the solution isn't what I'd prefer it to be and is not what I'd call "ideal", but it works.

Please don't take that as an open invitation to try to stump me. Remember, I said I don't have the time to reply and help as tempted as I get to try...

My point is, that setting up templates to work for you and reach your template goals can take some heavy thinking. Chances are there's a suitable solution if you open your mind and are willing to explore different strategies.

To the intermediate to advanced template user: Yes, I know there are some issues and things could be better. I don't dispute that at all. That's not what this post is about; this post is for template skeptics or people new to templates.

Templates take some effort, have patience; they're worth it. Take the time to read the Dreamweaver help documentation. (It may seem like a boring thing to do, but its important.) Visit http://www.dreamweavermx-templates.com and buy their book. (I did some tech editing on it way back when. Even though its 2 Dreamweaver versions behind, its still relevant and worth it.) Learn about how templates work, get some practice doing template tutorials, and you'll be much better off when doing your own templates.

Lastly, don't expect to be a total template master over night. Dreamweaver's templates are extremely powerful and once you start using their advanced features it can get very complex.

Adobe realesed the Dreamweaver 8.0.1 updater today. (It is sure going to take some getting used to not saying "Macromedia"...)

Get the scoop on what's been fixed by checking out the Resolved Issues: http://www.macromedia.com/go/f56452a8

In the first paragraph of the Release Notes you'll find a link to the download. Be sure to read the installation instructions! (Don't forget to disable virus protection like I did...Oops!)

Yet again someone has come up with a wacky idea to raise money online. This particular guy came up with an idea to sell one million pixels on a single web page for a dollar each. The last 1000 pixels were sold on eBay for roughly 38,000 bucks. So he made well over a million dollars in a matter of a few months. Crazy...

Awhile back, I posted My Fame and Misfortune. In that post I linked to a page, "Enough with the Fame, bring on the Fortune!" that I've now updated and given a (permanent link to on every page in this site) in hopes I can be the next fortunate fool...

(Yes I'm a huge Jack Johnson fan.)

Here's a tip for you if you don't want Dreamweaver to render a specific <cfinclude> tag in Design view. Look at the tag in the previous sentence. Now go back and look at the tag in this subject line. Spot the difference?

If you close a cfinclude tag as if it were an empty element like in XHTML, Dreamweaver does not render the contents of the cfinclude.

This won't render in Design view: <cfinclude template="/includes/header.cfm" />

This will render in Design view: <cfinclude template="/includes/header.cfm">

Why wouldn't you want Dreamweaver to render a cfinclude you ask? Oh, I can come up with a lot of reasons... I'll give you but a few of them.

• Dreamweaver parses the code in includes, hence rendering can be slowed down in Design view.
• The Server Behaviors panel may take longer to load.
• If you work with others who use Dreamweaver's Server Behaviors panel a lot, but they won't have any reason to touch your code you can hide it from them this way. (Sure, they can get around this but I mean hiding it from a Designer who might mess things up.)
• If you're doing conditionial logic and showing includes with an if/else or switch case, Dreamweaver will render all of the includes. Having all includes render at once could distort what the layout might look like if only one were showing. So you could disable includes using this trick and only enable the one you need to see.

If anyone cares to share some potential uses for this trick, please be sure to leave a comment.

To any Adobe employees reading this blog post: Please do not "fix" the translator to account for the space and closing slash. This is not a bug; its an undocumented feature. ;-)

Today I gave away all my special effect makeup supplies, director chairs, extra makeup brushes and much more. It hit me while I was doing this that I was never going to be a career makeup artist again...More than five years later, I've finally accepted my career change and am ok with it. (I always thought some day I would want to go back to being a makeup artist, but that's definitely not going to happen now.)

I'll never again be a makeup artist by profession/career; as far as I'm concerned, I'll always be a makeup artist. That skill will never leave me; I know the rules, tricks, and techniques even if I don't keep up with all the modern supplies. (Not all that much has changed in the last several years in the makeup industry anyway.)

I can now look back on those years as a professional makeup artist as good times and be proud of what I did. I'm happy with my new career and hope to grow with the industry and continue to enjoy it for many years to come.

New laws are now forcing credit card companies to double their minimum dues begining this month. For many people I know who make just enough to cover ther credit card's minimum due payments, this is going to hit hard and hurt.

I don't have credit cards so this won't hit me directly thankfully. However, I imagine that many people will no longer afford themselves their usual spending because they won't have any extra money to do so. It will be interesting to see how this affects the economy...

My guess at this point is that it will hurt restaurants first because when people have little to no money one of the first things I hear people say is, "I just won't eat out; I'll cook at home instead." Great for grocery stores, bad for restaurants...

Anyhow, if you'd like to read more about it here's an article on the ABC news website for you. http://abcnews.go.com/Business/US/story?id=1457121

Me: You're so yummy I'm going to eat you up.

Gaetano [with much facial expression/animation, smiling, spoken indignantly]: I am not a munchkin. I'm not eatable. I am not breakfast!

Those who know us know that we love to tease him and call him munchkin. He always laughs and its a fun game for us. Today it was the "eatable" part that cracked us up and I had to blog it so I'd never forget it...

Me: This is called checking email son; its boring.

Gaetano: I don't want to do work. When I get married to a mom she's going to do all the work.

This was just too funny to not share...

Ambrogio bought Gaetano a little toy horse with a head that can turn awhile back from a street vendor. (In other words, it was a real cheap toy.) Gaetano played with it for only a short while before he discovered that the head was removable.

We have been prepping for Christmas today; we're throwing away broken toys and giving away toys in good condition that aren't played with anymore.

I showed the headless horse to Gaetano and asked him if we should throw it away. He agreed. So I showed his dad and told him that's what happens when you get cheap toys.

Without missing a beat Ambrogio asked Gaetano, "Gaetano, where's his head? You didn't put it in somebody's bed did you?"

Gaetano's too young to get his father's joke, but I had to leave the room so I could burst out laughing. To those who don't get why I found it so funny...The movie The Godfather is a hint. (Not that a horse's head in a bed in and of itself is funny, but the opportunity to reference the movie like that is what was so hillarious.)

"Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for - in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it." ~Ellen Goodman

It seems that many people are wondering whether or not Adobe will continue to support ColdFusion. Let me first say that despite whatever you might think given what you (may think that you) know about me, I have no "insider" information. That said, here's what I think about it...

I've been to numerous government websites that are powered by ColdFusion. If I were Adobe, I wouldn't want to upset the government. Can you say tax audits? ;-)

In all seriousness, I don't think ColdFusion is going to disappear anytime soon -- at least not in the next 2 or 3 years. According to Macromedia's website, ColdFusion 5 is still supported in some capacity until January 1, 2007.

Further, they are still selling their Gold Support Program which is unlimited email or telephone incidents for one year. Adobe would have to honor that agreement, so that says to me that there's at least one more year where ColdFusion will be supported.

So I say, stop your worrying! You can start to worry when you see that Adobe has updated the site and it says they won't support ColdFusion anymore. When they do so, I doubt very much that it would be an overnight end to support. Most likely it would be at least a year from such announcment that support would be discontinued.

Keep in mind that Flex is also tied closely to ColdFusion. Imagine the uproar among Macromedia's (now Adobe's) enterprise level customers if they were to discontinue technologies they invested so much money in.

The aftermath of such a thing would surely damage Adobe's reputation and rattle customer confidence. Adobe has to know this, they aren't blind.

Granted large companies make stoooopid mistakes all the time. In my opinion discountinuing certain technologies such as ColdFusion would be a huge mistake. I just can't see Adobe making a mistake of that magnitude.

If I happen to be wrong and Adobe doesn't keep ColdFusion going, another group/company is sure to pick up where they left off. (If the sky did fall, there's always BlueDragon.)

I for one am sticking to ColdFusion.

Yesterday I had my one week checkup for the laser cryptology (a whole 2 days early because of the holiday). The doctor says it looks like there's no infection and that I'm healing well.

I told my doctor, "It doesn't really hurt except for..." and then he started to say nearly the same exact words, "...when you yawn big, cough and sneeze." I also told him that the funky white stuff (that's what we've been calling it here at home) is really annoying more than anything else. To which he replied, "It will be that way for awhile. It should be all better in three to four weeks."

I'm hoping it will be less than that because it sure is an annoying feeling that can get rather distracting making it hard to concentrate sometimes...

All in all I'm doing ok, better than I expected I would be. I'm able to talk as much as I'd like now, but will get sore if I talk too much still. I tried to sing yesterday and it hurt when I went to hit a higher note so no more singing for a few more days at least.

Thanks to all of you who extended your well wishes, prayers, good vibes, etc. to me. They must be helping since I'm feeling much better than I could have hoped; so far so good.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I always feel better when I have visitors and I usually heal faster if I get out of the house. Yesterday brought both; I had visitors and I was able to get out for a little while.

Eric, Kat, and Carolyn Meyer came over to visit us. It was so nice of them to fly all the way to California just to visit me. Ok, I'm fibbing and you're gullible! They were here in California for a friend's wedding and so we planned a day together.

When this whole tonsil surgery thing came about I thought I'd be too miserable for company and thought I'd have to cancel. I'm so glad I was well enough for company.

Dan and Gaetano had never met Kat or Carolyn before yesterday. (Last month Eric was on his way to a conference and had a long layover in California, so Dan and Gaetano got to meet him then.) It was also my first time meeting Carolyn too.

When they arrived, Gaetano and I went outside to greet everyone. When Gaetano saw Carolyn he said hello to her but she didn't answer. So Gaetano made a motion with his hands that I barely caught out of the corner of my eye. Kat asked if he was trying to sign to her.

I hadn't told Gaetano that Carolyn signs, so I had to conclude that he tried simply because she didn't respond. When I wasn't able to speak the last few days, I would spell words using finger spelling. There was also a segment on Sesame Street with a little girl who learned a few signs from her deaf friend. Somehow, Gaetano must have made a connection that if someone doesn't speak try signing. Pretty amazing...

It didn't take long before the kids were running around having fun. It was so cute to see our kids play together.

We went out for sushi then for Cold Stone Creamery, my two favorite foods. So good friends, good food, good times...definitely helped me feel better.

They managed to escape without seeing the "gross white stuff on mom's tonsils" that Gaetano described for them. The night ended way too soon. It is really too bad that we don't live close enough to visit often...

My throat was a little sore from all the talking, but it was worth it. I woke up feeling even better than yesterday. My voice is doing fine now, the back of my throat just feels...grody. Yep, that's a good old-fashioned 80's word for it. Now it only hurts if I sneeze or cough, which has been about 6 or 7 times so far today. Not too bad, really...

Friday: The most painful part of the procedure was getting my tonsils injected with Novocain. There were about 7 or 8 injections on each side.

(Warning: Gross part coming up next.) The doctor then removed the tonsolliths before the laser cryptology. The one on my right looked to be about the size of a green pea. I didn't see what he got out of the left, but he remarked that it was less than the right side. It's no wonder I've felt like I had a pill stuck in my throat for 3 weeks!

During the procedure, my tongue flinched and I got zapped by the laser! I hardly felt it since the topical anesthesia hadn't worn off yet. From that point on we used a tongue depressor to be sure I didn't move accidentally again.

Afterwards, I could speak normally up until the anesthesia wore off and then I wasn't feeling too good. Pain. Lots of pain and swelling. It was mostly pain in my ears, but also in my throat (of course).

There was so much pain that the Vicodin didn't seem to be helping at all. Lots of nausea... Only liquids for me tonight and super runny mash potatoes that I tried to eat but was only able to swallow a few teaspoonfuls.

Saturday: I was still in pain and Vicodin was still not helping. More nausea... More and more nausea....more and more...uh oh, ouch! (Yes, I did. Twice! Yes, it hurt.)

I was able to say a word or two then I'd have to whisper. A minute or two of whispering and I had to be quiet for about 30 minutes or so.

I had a mostly liquid diet, some bread soaked in broth, and a danish which required lots of chewing and drinking before swallowing.

Today (Sunday): I am still in pain, but I stopped the Vicodin. It didn't seem to be helping and I think it was causing the nausea. Today's pain has been like yesterday's (with the Vicodin) minus the nausea. I can also talk a bit more than yesterday.

This morning I could talk for about one or two minutes in a normalish voice then I'd have to whisper for awhile. So far, I've only completely lost my voice three or four times today (unlike yesterday which was probably a good 1/2 of the day.)

Tonight though? YUCK. Ouch and lots of frustration. (Warning: Another gross part coming up next.) The scab on my left tonsil is peeling off very slowly. It's driving me to insanity. It feels as bad (if not worse) than having a tonsillolith back there.

I can see it dangling and I just want to yank it off. (Thankfully Dan didn't and won't let me.) I know it'd be a stupid thing to do, but it is so tempting since it hurts where it is still attached and pulling...

I was able to talk tonight for a good 15 or 20 minutes until this dangling tonsil scab thingy started to hurt. Now I have no voice again because if I talk, it makes me feel like coughing, which makes it hurt... So no more talking tonight.

Gargling with warm salt water seems to help as does my favorite and oh so yummy Tazo chai tea latte -- more of both in store for me tonight.

I'm hopeful that tomorrow the left side's scab will fall off and I should be able to speak for longer periods. (The right side hasn't peeled up at all yet. Hopefully that one will be gone by Tuesday.)

I suspect that by Friday I'll be seemingly normal to everyone around me. I imagine that it will still be difficult to eat most foods though until I'm mostly healed and the flesh has gotten tougher.

That's it for now. I'll try to post an update tomorrow or Tuesday. If I grossed you out at all, I'm sorry. If I didn't and you were hoping that I would, I'm sorry too!

Friday morning I'll be getting my tonsils zapped with lasers. [insert cool laser sounds here] (No, they haven't given me any good drugs yet; I'm just naturally goofy.)

As fun as I just made that sound, it won't be fun at all. I've had tonsilloliths on and off for about ten years now. For most of those years it was more off than on. Lately its gotten more frequent and in the past two years my tonsils and I are at odds with each other frequently.

The problem isn't just the tonsilloliths, its that my tonsils get so irritated by them (and my constant coughing in a futile attempt to dislodge the stones) that my throat becomes infected. I've had at least 6 (if not more) throat infections and many minor sore throats in the last 2 years.

The last three weeks have been pretty miserable. The constant feeling of something stuck in my throat has made me rather irritable too. So for the sake of those who love me and my own sanity I'm finally doing something about it.

Laser cryptology is what I'm having done. Basically a laser is used to blast the crypts in my tonsils so that they're no longer tunnel-like and more bowl shaped. This should prevent the tonsilloliths as well as the sore throat and resulting throat infections.

There's no guarantee that it will be 100% effective, but I'm hopeful that it will be. Worst case scenario is I'd have to get my tonsils removed completely, which is what we're trying to avoid doing by having this procedure instead.

The recover is nearly as bad as it is for an adult tonsillectomy. Those who have their tonsils removed as adults have put the fear in me... (Thanks a lot!)

I'm expecting to be unable to speak for about a week, with three weeks to fully recover, four tops. I'll be all better just in time for Web Design World Boston.

It's outpatient and only local anaesthetic so I won't be away long. Knowing me, I'll be on the computer trying to work as much as I'm able (or as much as the pain killers will allow).

Dan and Gaetano will be taking good care of me, so try not to worry; I've got the worrying covered already.

"The problem with humor is everyone has a different sense of it." ~Dan Short

"I think we should write Amazon and encourage them to have an 'exposure day' once a year. That day they lift the veil and everyone gets to see who bashed you. Heck I think they'd get a ton of traffic and probably even sell a few books, the papers would report on it. Of course there'd be a brief peak in the homicide [and] suicide rates shortly afterwards, but whatever. Its all in good fun." ~Christine Conners Author of: From High Heels To Bunny Slippers: Surviving The Transition From Career To Home (Coming Soon!) Lost! Is Your Child Prepared? Lipsmackin' Vegetarian Backpackin' Lipsmackin' Backpackin': Lightweight Trail-tested Recipes for Backcountry Trips

As an author myself, having had at least one totally bogus review that was probably made by a competitor, I think the idea of 'exposure day' is great.

I've never met Christine, having only communicated with her via email. I'd bet that her books are just as humorous and fun to read as her emails are.

Old age and treachery wins out over youth and exuberance every time. ~Lawrence Cramer

Ok, so I'm not quite their target market since I just turned 30 in May, but still...

Dan was just reading me a an article on Slate called, "Are Gap's new clothes for boomers any good?". I had to cut him off when he got to this part, "Women over age 35 are, in the words of Forth & Towne's president, Gary Muto, "underserved." They have more income than younger women, but fewer places to shop. For most middle-aged women[...]".

"Middle Aged?!", I exclaimed. "If they want to hit their target market, they'd better stop calling us middle-aged!" Hrumph... So what if I'm just 30. I'll be 35 before I know it and I was actually looking forward to shopping there...

All kidding aside, I took a look at the slideshow and some of the clothes look alright but I'm not all that impressed. They're going to have to have some very impressive window displays to get me to walk in (and not because of the "middle-aged" thing).

I just got some spam with the subject line, "We can cure any desease!" I guess they can't cure typlexia\bad-speller-itis...

Last week Dan and I were having dinner with Gaetano at a local sushi restaurant that we frequent. Gaetano is only five but he loves sushi and has been enjoying it for two years now.

Dan and I were talking about how we feel sorry for some people who have significant others that don't like sushi as much as they do. Often one person loves sushi and the other one doesn't want to go out for chicken teriyaki more than once a week (if that much). Its so sad...

So we told Gaetano that it is really important that he finds a girlfriend that likes sushi as much as he does so they can go out for sushi together. We were just including him in conversation, not really expecting him to take it to heart.

A couple nights later he comes into our office and tells us, "I hope Taylor Mae likes sushi." Instantly I knew what he meant and asked him if he wanted her to be his girlfriend. He nodded and grinned.

The next morning (which was this past Friday) he talked to us some more about Taylor Mae liking sushi and it was important. Uh boy... He then tells me that he's going to ask her if she likes sushi and if she hasn't tried it she has to.

Dan walked him to class and I stayed in the car. When they got there, Gaetano went up to Taylor Mae and asked if she liked sushi. She told him that she tried it and it was "blech" as she made her most disgusted face while sticking out her tongue.

Gaetano wouldn't take that for an answer. So he told her that she'd only tried salmon eggs (since that's one thing he doesn't like, that must be what she tried) and that she had to try a different piece. She just had to like it.

Well today we saw her dad and told him this little story. As it turned out, she loves sushi just about as much as Gaetano! Did she somehow know why Gaetano was asking and decided to fib about it? Who knows...

Now we just have to wait and see if Gaetano finds out she really does like sushi and what he'll do then. Perhaps he'll offer her his jacket. He just might do that since last night Dan told him that you're supposed to let your girlfriend wear your jacket because I was wearing Dan's. I bet that sunk in too!

Happy Birthday to my Dan, I love you! (This post is 2 days late, but as the saying goes...)

Anyhow, if you haven't been to a Melting Pot yet and there's one near you, you're missing out. I've never been to a fondue restaurant before, in fact I didn't know such a thing existed... Dan and I went on Wednesday night for his birthday and it was fantastic.

If you download their menu (we went to the Irvine, CA location) there's a Big Night Out four course meal. That's what we had except we substituted the Snickers fondue for White Chocolate with Amaretto. Yummm...

The setting is cozy, intimate even. I don't know if all locations are like the one we went to, but you could see only one table from ours and only half of it at that. It felt very private, like we were the only ones there. (Well, except for some woman in the next room who seemed to cackle at everything that was even remotely funny. It was so hard to ignore her! I so could not be friends with someone who laughed like her...)

We're definitely going again as soon as we can manage it. It's pricey, but definitely worth it. Oh, and their martinis are fabulous. Try the Apple Carmel martini if you go.

I'll get right to the point. There will not be a Dreamweaver 8 Killer Tips so buy MX 2004 if you haven't already. For the full story, visit DWKillerTips.com and have a laugh or three.

There's a bunch more interviews up on SYS-CON.TV from MAX, including one with Dan Short who is the Lead Developer of Cartweaver, a coder extraordinaire, and more. (Yes, I am quite biased!)

Find out why Dan's asking for "more love" and from whom. View Dan's interview or check them all out, whatever you'd like...

First print ads, now I'm on TV! Ok, so it isn't regular TV, it's SYS-CON.TV but its still TV...

On Tuesday (October 18, 2005) at about 5:45pm I was interviewed by SYS-CON.TV's Jeremy Geelan, live and unscripted. The interview was recorded at MAX 2005 right there in SYS-CON's booth. The interview appears to be completely unedited*, lasting a bit over 5 minutes.

*The interview is a bit of a blur, I was so tired at the time. To the best of my memory, everything recorded is being played.

I think the camera added a good 10lbs., I say "um" and "uh" a whole lot, and my grammar could have been better if I'd thought a bit more before answering, but otherwise it was pretty good for me. (I'm probably my worst critic...) Once you watch the interview, feel free to leave a comment here on my blog to let me know what you thought.

Today I gave my Dreamweaver Killer Tips session twice at MAX. During the second session someone asked about changing the order of files once they're open. I joked about how Adobe has that technology and since a merger is pending there's hope for that feature in the future, the audience all chuckled and that was pretty much that...or so I thought.

After the session, Jen Taylor (Dreamweaver Product Manager) and Alain Dumesny (Dreamweaver Engineer) came up and informed me that the feature is there; Alain added the ability to drag document tabs to reorder them as a last minute new feature. Way to go Alain! I'm glad it is in there (even if it isn't obvious since there's no gripper indicator or other visual queue... hint, hint, wink, wink, nudge, nudge).

I would not have minded one bit if Jen or Alain chimed in to say the feature was added in there at all. I love learning new tips as much as my audience. If I didn't, I wouldn't be doing what I do...

Most importanly I'm hoping that the 300 people in the room forgive me for my mistake! I am blogging this for you in hopes that I've made it up to you.

I'm truly sorry I missed that feature, but hopefully your feedback to Macromedia will help show them that there needs to be some little enhancments to make the feature more obvious. (Click-n-hold an open document's tab while dragging it where you want. Release your mouse when the filename tab is where you want it.)

Thank you Jen, Alain, and all of the Dreamweaver product team for all the "lesser known" features in Dreamweaver and even a few of the "bugs" which I consider to be "undocumented features" (like docking the Code inspector to the right or left of the document window).

The team has done a great job listening to the community. For that I thank Macromedia for hearing us and I also thank everyone who fills out the wish form to report both features and flaws. Keep up the good work!

Like most kids his age, Gaetano just loves to touch things when we're out shopping. A few nights ago I felt like a recording stuck on a loop playing the words, "Gaetano, please don't touch. Don't touch please. Gaetano, didn't I say don't touch?".

As we walked through the store I noticed that I had encountered some static electricity and decided to use it to my advantage. The next time he touched something, I reached over and touched his arm.

His eyes widened and he just looked at me like, "how did you do that?! " Then in my best matter-of-fact/trying-not-to-laugh tone I told him, "Did you feel that? Didn't I tell you 'don't touch'? I shocked you. Mama has super powers." He wasn't sure if I was teasing or serious, so I guess he decided to play it safe and not touch anything the rest of the shopping excursion.

I thought for sure he would know I was teasing... Hope he doesn't have this to get over in therapy some day!

I can't believe I forgot to blog this, so rather than update the original post...

I showed Gaetano the MXDJ and told him to look at all the pages. He flipped through them and commented about various things that he saw. When he came to the "MAX is Angela Buraglia" ad, he said to me. "That looks like you mama... That is you!" It was too cute :-)

This week's poem is called Keep a Poem in Your Pocket. Not sure if I'll make a post about the homework every week or not yet, but I will do my best to at least scan it in for the gallery...

Gaetano started Kindergarten and he's doing great so far. Its been a lot of fun watching him learn. So I started a Homework gallery to show off some of his work. This week's work included memorizing a poem about apples and illustrating it.

When times are tough, I just have to remember the positives and I know I'll pull through... :-)

There's been a siting; Eric spotted this ad of me on slashdot.org, which is new to the collection. Have you spotted me in an ad online somewhere else?

With all this "fame", you'd think there'd be fortune. Ha! Seems these days its more like misfortune...

First my car died. (I've no idea what's wrong with it yet other than it won't start and inside it smells like gasoline.) Then the bathroom sink leaked badly enough to ruin the vanity so that it will need to be replaced. (Luckily the cheap particle board inside it soaked up all the water that there wasn't any floor damage.) This morning we discovered that the washer is leaking and will cost $189 to fix. A bunch of medical bills arrived (you don't want to know how much) along with a $1320 estimate for dental work that's badly needed.

That's not to mention all the other things that are not directly related to money that have been going on lately. September has been a really stressful month for me to say the least.

I just had a crazy idea. Perhaps since I have a page devoted to my "fame", I should have one devoted to my (lack of) fortune. I suppose it can't hurt... It may not even help; not like it'll make me rich!

I'll keep working hard as usual...

In case you've missed the news elsewhere, Studio 8 is now available. You can also download a 30-day trial of Studio 8 or each of its core products individually.

My apologies if this post seems at all vain. I'm posting mostly for family and friends who are interested. Few others will care at all, except for perhaps my supposed fan club in Italy...

Back in July when the ads first debuted via email, I had no idea just how much more the ads would circulate. I got a good laugh when David Robinison said:

"This afternoon I got a couple of emails in my inbox with Macromedia's new MAX ad campaign. They both begin "MAX is..." and have the names of MAX 2005 speakers. I got Angela Buraglia and Justin Everett-Church. (They seem like little trading cards in some ways...collect 'em all!)"

Since then, variations of the ad have appeared on sys-con.com's site and full page ads inside the MX Developers Journal (Volume 3 Issue 7), just inside the back cover of ColdFusion Developer's Journal (July 2005 Volume:7 Issue:7 & August 2005 Volume:7 Issue:8), and just two pages away from being the centerfold of the Special Issue: Studio 8 edition of the MX Developer's Journal (Volume 3 Issue 8).

I've been told the ad will also appear on webdeveloper.com and a devx.com and possibly others but I haven't seen them yet. If you happen to spot me somewhere please let me know.

I've uploaded a copy of the original email blast, the sys-con site's ads, and a PDF copy of the full page magazine ad if you're curious.

Long before I was ever a web developer, I was an aspiring actress turned makeup artist for film. I never expected to make it in print work! ;-)

Today I discoverred the new line of Natural and Organic Snacks from FritoLay. I never thought Gaetano would be able to have Doritos due to his food allergies (which I believe I share so I avoid the same foods), but now he can! So far I've taste tested the Natural White Cheddar and Natural Cool Ranch Doritos and they're just as yummy as the original. The Natural White Cheddar Cheetos are delicious too and sure to be a hit with Gaetano. We'll surely be trying their other natural products when these run out. I'll comment here if any turn out to be less yummy than the original, but from the taste of it so far it doesn't look like that will be a problem at all.

As you may recall, Dan and I celebrated our love of FireFox a few days ago. Today, Dan wore his t-shirt and Gaetano thought it was really cool.

Gaetano pointed at Dan's shirt and notices, "That looks like a fox. He has a nose." With loads of curiosity in his voice he asked, "Why is the fox on fire?"

Naturally, Dan and I were pleased at his observation and the two of us replied at the same time. I said, "Because that's the FireFox logo. It's a FireFox." while Dan said, "That's his name. His name is FireFox." Looks like they did a good job depicting the name with the logo!

Shortly thereafter we arrived at my friend's house for her son's 10th birthday celebration. Demetrius saw Dan's shirt and exclaims, "Wow, you really do like computers -- a Mozilla FireFox shirt!"

I was surprised to hear he knew what FireFox was, so I asked him about it. As it turns out, Demetrius knew about FireFox because his aunt "got it after her virus". He also thought the logo was really cool.

Today Dan and I celebrated our love of FireFox. We are now the proud owners of the two available FireFox t-shirts (navy and black), though you'll probably never catch us both wearing the same one at the same time (*or the same style for that matter).

I also got Dan and Gaetano matching FireFox baseball hats. For our office wall, I bought us a limited edition poster of the Firefox two page advertisement that appeared in The New York Times on December 16th, 2004. On its way still are some FireFox stickers and the navy polo shirt for Dan.

If you love FireFox like we do, please help spread the love and buy something to help support your favorite browser.

*Note: I made a funny. If you didn't get it, go back and read it again until you laugh, even if it is just for courtesy's sake!

Back in February my optomitrist explained to me that I would probably never be able to see a stereogram's image because my eyes don't know how to relax the way that they should. I've always thought that anyone who could see a stereogram was just making stuff up, there's nothing there, and it is all a practical joke.

Yesterday while waiting for the doctor I finally saw it; a whale, several fish, and two dolphins magically appeared in a stereogram called Calypso. Dan says that there were a couple of palm trees too but I couldn't see them because that part of the poster was up too high for me to focus properly.

What helped me to finally see it was the reflection of a computer monitor behind me. I stared at the monitor, something I do daily so it was easy, and then all of a sudden I saw fish.

It feels like I've been missing out on the fun for years. Hopefully I'll be able to take some time soon to go look at a bunch of these somewhere so I can see what I've been missing. (Looking at them online isn't easy.)

With some practice, I'll be one of those annoying people who walk right up to a stereogram and comment about what it is and how cool it looks.

I didn't know I was going to have this done today; it was just a consultation since it had been awhile since my goiter was looked at. I wish we'd brought my video camera!

I've been putting off getting an FNA (fine needle aspiration, a.k.a. fine needle biopsy) of the goiter in my neck since it was discovered back in 1997. Before you go scolding me for putting it off so long, it wasn't something that seemed necessary given the rest of my case. The goiter fits better with the benign profile than it does the malignant profile so I'm not worried about it.

The doctor took an ultrasound of my thyroid and gave me a copy of one of the pictures he took. When I go back in two weeks I'll see if I can get copies of the others, including a couple taken while the needle was in my neck, and if so I'll post them all in my photo gallery. (I'm too lazy to scan and upload just the one picture tonight, sorry.)

You may be thinking the FNA sounds painful. I had an expectation that the FNA would be extremely painful considering no anesthesia is given, but I was pleasantly surprised that it was just a bit worse than getting blood drawn, just like the doctor said.

The needle is inserted, then the doctor plunges the device quickly up and down to gather the sample. He did four samples from different points of the goiter each lasting about 15 seconds. The fourth was the worst because I had some referred pain that I felt under my jaw line and into my ear. (It felt sort of like when I've gotten an injection at the dentist's office.)

This was about six hours ago. It feels a bit bruised and hurts when I turn my head to the right. I felt a bit nauseated after dinner, but that could have been the Mexican food I'd eaten and unrelated. Otherwise it wasn't all that bad.

Word on the street is that Macromedia and Adobe shareholders approved the acquisition editor for, say it with me now... 3.4 <voice character="Austin Powers">billion</voice>. Regulators still have to approve it, though I can't see why they wouldn't.

Given the sneak peek I posted about, I'd say both companies expect it to be official soon. Looks like it will be in the Fall, on schedule.

It's almost time for Gaetano to start Kindergarten and we've been getting ready for it. He's really excited about it too, which is great. (This is going to be a really long post, but hang in there if you can because there's some cute momoments. I'm a sucker for cute moments though...)

We already went school shopping for all the basic Kindergarten supplies so he'll be ready. When I was a kid, we didn't have fancy purple glue sticks that dry clear, washable markers, washable crayons, or erasable color pencils. So not fair... I'm looking forward to the fun projects I'll be helping him with at home.

One thing he wasn't excited about was getting his immunizations last Thursday and I can't say I blame him! Explaining to him that he has to do it to be in Kindergarten and that all the kids have to do it helped a little bit. Of course that didn't stop the wailing tears when he got the injections.

He received one shot in his left arm and two in his left thigh. Gaetano insisted he only got two shots total instead of three until the next morning when he took off his band-aid and saw there were two red spots. That's when he proclaimed, "I did get three!" He was too busy screaming over the second injection to even notice the third one!

Later that day, he pointed out his injections on his thigh to his daycare teacher and then turned to me to ask where his other one was because he'd forgotten. I guess it couldn't have hurt that bad or he would have remembered that it was his left arm.

Given my medical history and a couple potential symptoms, the doctor ordered some blood tests for Gaetano too. He's probably fine, but given my bad health history I'd rather be safe than sorry. I'm thankful to have a doctor who doesn't shrug things off and is willing to check just in case.

So I waited until Monday to do that since I was due to get my blood drawn too then and we both had to be fasting for the test. Early Monday morning we headed to the lab which is on the first floor just below the doctor's office.

They drew six vials from me first while Gaetano watched. I was calm and chatty, no big deal. He was pretty nervous but he did much better than last Thursday. So well that he only started to tear up a little before he got distracted by the technician who asked him to count to twenty which stopped him from crying.

Afterwards, he claimed it didn't hurt and he was only scared a little bit. He was mostly just disappointed because when he asked if we could take the blood home with us the answer was no.

Last on the pre-K to-do list was the TB test; back to the second floor for another needle, what fun. As we got out of the car Gaetano asked if we were going to go on the elevator to level two. I told him yes and he complained that he didn't want to go because level two hurt but level one didn't. I told him this time level two wouldn't hurt and not to worry about it as we approached the doctor's office.

Dan and I really expected that he'd do well given how well he did with getting his blood drawn. We couldn't have been more mistaken! Gaetano started crying and wailing as soon as he saw the same nurse from the last immunizations and the needle in her hands. He was telling us that he wanted to do the TB test on level one because level one doesn't hurt but level two does.

I thought maybe a different nurse might be able to make him feel better and the nurse agreed. She felt so bad seeing him cry and I felt bad that she felt bad. Talk about a vicious cycle!

So another nurse came in and she was really good with him. She had him write TB and his name, clean the vial containing the TB and his arm with an alcohol swab.

As soon as she opened the needle package his eyes were leaking profusely and he kept repeating all the same things he did before about levels one and two. So much for my theory; the new nurse made no difference!

I hated to do it, but I held his arms while Dan held his feet and the nurse gave him the injection. It was the tiniest little prick, just barely under the skin on his forearm. There's no way that it would hurt badly, and no matter how much anyone told him so he didn't want to believe it.

When the nurse was done, he saw stopped crying for just a second until he saw the bubble on his arm. (It looked like a blister.) The site of the bubble must have scared him because he started to cry harder again, but stopped after less than a minute. What a trauma!

Afterwards, it was the same story as after getting his blood drawn. In the car on the way to dinner, Gaetano told us that it didn't hurt, that he was only scared. So I told him next time he needs to trust us and not be scared. I'm hopeful that he'll be much better next time, just like he was the second time he got his blood drawn. (The first time was quite scary and is a rather funny story that I'll save for another day.)

Last thing to get done is the paperwork that needs to be filled out. I noticed earlier that there's a blood lead test that's required for all children over the age of 4 years 3 months. Uh oh...He already had blood drawn Monday and that wasn't part of the testing.

The nurse called the lab to see if they could use the blood from Monday at my suggestion. Even though Gaetano did well with that, I didn't want to put him through it again if I didn't have to. Unfortunately the nurse couldn't get an answer for us right away so I had to wait for a call back.

After we got home from dinner there was a very happy sounding message from the nurse stating that the lab had enough blood left to do the lead test. Hooray! Gaetano doesn't have to get poked again.

Friday the TB results are read and we'll get all the blood test results from Monday and hopefully the lead test too. What an ordeal for all of us!

This just in... Macromedia has put up more MAX session sneak peeks. Yes, there's even one from yours truly. Ok, so I'm not "yours" but you know what I mean.

It seems that more and more I'm getting what seem might be legitimate comments posted in response to my blogging. When I look at the URL provided it turns out to be something... something... something I would rather not link to. Yeah, that's a nice way of putting it.

It amazes me that people take the time to reply to blogs for the purpose of search engine recognition alone. Sorry whatever-the-official-slang-term-is-for-those-of-you-who-do-that is, but...

Wait, no, I'm not sorry. It's my blog and I'm not going to let comments link to places where I'd rather they not link to. Find another way to boost your search engine listing because I'm not going to help you. I may or may not post your comments, but definitely not your links.

Some things in life are free, like Macromedia's online (live) seminars, recorded seminars, and regular old-fashioned-style seminars. So if you're looking for information on Studio 8, get it straight from Macromedia, free!

Macromedia will be visiting the following communities to present a free three-hour technical seminar all about Studio 8 between 08/23/2005 and 09/22/2005: Boston, Burnaby (Vancouver), Calgary, Chicago, Los Angeles, McLean, Montreal, New York, Ottawa, San Francisco, Toronto, Washington DC.

Hurry, space is limitted and (online) registration is required to attend.

Gaetano loves to tell people all about the things he's done. He's a talker; yes I know, he's like his mama. His latest favorite thing to tell people is his trunk story.

Last week he took an entrance exam for Kindergarten. When he was done, he wanted to tell the teacher something. As soon as he started telling her what he wanted to say, I knew what it was and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Gaetano told the teacher that Dan put him in the trunk. Her facial expression was what you'd expect it to be when she first heard Gaetano tell her that we'd put him in the trunk.

Now before you go freaking out, it is important to know that he was not traumatized in any way; he went into the trunk willingly, was not scared, and likes telling people the story.

The problem is, sometimes he forgets to say why he was put in the trunk, which is the most important part. Once we told the teacher why, it was no big deal.

Dan bought a new Jetta a little over a month ago, which has a glow-in-the-dark safety release handle inside. I wanted Gaetano to know how to get out of the trunk if any bad guys ever tried to put him inside.

Before putting him in the trunk, Dan put the back seat down so that Gaetano could get out that way if he wanted. I explained to him that he could go out through he back seat if he gets scared, showed him where the handle was, and put him inside. He pushed on the handle a few seconds after we closed the trunk and the trunk popped right open. (The Jetta is great; the trunk opens all the way by itself.)

Gaetano was proud of himself and not scared whatsoever. He told my parents about the trunk the next time we visited and we showed them how he knows how to get out, this time without the back seat down. He wasn't scared at all. I'm so proud of him.

He knows that sometimes bad guys take kids and put them in the trunk, so he knows that he shouldn't be scared because most new cars have a handle. He also knows that if there isn't a handle he needs to make a lot of noise if the car isn't moving.

I feel better knowing that he knows what he should do and I'm glad to see that car manufacturers are taking steps to make trunks safer. Such is the world we live in that these things are important. If you have a young child and a car with a trunk escape mechanism, please be sure to teach your child how to use it.

Last month Molly asked why we blog. I've been meaning to talk about that for awhile now, even before Molly raised the question. I'm glad that she asked, because if she hadn't I probably would have put off talking about it even longer. Now seems as good as time as any, so here goes...

There have been times where readers criticized me for posting about things other than Dreamweaver. Usually these readers are viewing an RSS feed of my blog and not reading directly from my site. Sometimes my RSS is not properly aggregated or a couple times my RSS was acting up and was not outputting what it should be. In either case, my RSS feed's description says:

"Everything from gushy mom stuff to Dreamweaver related things like conferences and extensions."

That means everything from my life as a mom, which means anything that happens within a 24 hour day since being a mom is not something I can switch off. Surely there are people who are as uninterested in my work related posts as much as those who are uninterested in my personal life.

Either way, I'm going to talk about whatever I'd like. Anyone reading my blog is doing so by their choice and can stop at any time or filter on a variety of categories in order to see only things that are relevant to their interests.

A few weeks ago I posted that I was thinking of taking my medical posts off my home page. I haven't had time to do so, and now I'm not even sure I want to do that anymore. That's because today, all my osteochondroma posts and photos became worthwhile because of a comment I got today in an old post from almost 2 years ago.

Knowing that I've helped someone or made them feel better, even if it is for a single second makes the time it takes to make my thoughts and feelings public worth it.

Sometimes I hear from fellow moms asking for career advice from the mom perspective. Those emails remind me that we're all on the same earth and often have the same concerns, hopes, fears, dreams, etc. I'm not alone. You're not alone.

Often it is easier to type my thoughts than it is to find someone to talk to about them at the time they're in my head. In some ways, blogging is for me, cathartic. So even if my ramblings help nobody else but me, I'll still do it.

So to finally answer the question, I blog because: I want my son to read it all some day when he's older, it can be cathartic, I don't like writing as much as typing, my memory fails sometimes and my blog has refreshed my memory before on more than a few occasions, I know that there's a chance someone might find it useful, and I can.

This month's Macromedia Edge newsletter has an article called, "Top 10 Reasons to Attend MAX 2005" that you should definitely check out even if you have no intention of going. (Hint: You may find #10 interesting.)

If you've been looking for more Dreamweaver 8 sneak peeks, here's a few you may not have seen yet. The following three links will lead you to previews of three MAX 2005 presentations. Can you guess which one of these three were written by yours truly? ~ Using the Power of XML with Dreamweaver ~ Using the CSS Box Model for Page Layout ~ Dreamweaver Killer Tips

Sorry folks; turns out my RSS feed was aggravating some aggregator viewers. As it turns out, I had a bad SQL query that didn't work right when I posted more than once in a day. I'm pretty sure we've got it fixed now.

Should you see multiple copies of the same post on an aggregator, please let me know.

It's true...

You asked for it, now you can get it; Cartweaver 2 PHP is now available. (If you didn't ask for it, we'll still let you buy it don't worry.)

As you can probably tell, we're quite excited to have a new product to offer. PHP is a very popular server model and many people have contacted Cartweaver support to inquire about a PHP version of our popular shopping cart software.

The ASP, ColdFusion and PHP versions all look the same online. To make it easier for developers who code in multiple server models, we kept all three versions as similar as possible structurally.

As for the Dreamweaver extensions, between all versions everything is identical with the exception of a few minor differences in the installation and setup due to server model requirements.

Special thanks to Tom Muck, our PHP developer for all of his hard work. You've done an incredible job Tom!

"I downloaded a new game." ~Gaetano, age 5

Deer Park Alpha 1.1 is the code name for the recently released alpha of what will become FireFox 1.1. I'm really excited about the future of FireFox. Developers can expect to see improved CSS2, more CSS3, SVG support and much more.

I've recently started building some admin interfaces for internal use on my website and it is so nice to be able to build just for FireFox. I also have a client who has recently given us the okay to build their admin interfaces for FireFox only, cutting out Internet Explorer and Safari completely! I really didn't expect that we'd be so lucky but once we got into the project and it was clear that trying to support Safari was slowing down production the decision became a "no-brainer" for our client. Going forward, all admin interfaces I build will most likely be built for FireFox and if they happen to behave nicely in other browsers that's great but it won't be priority.

Like other web developers, I still long for the day when I can code and it just works in any current browser. Until then, I can at least build admin interfaces without the headaches of testing in multiple browser versions...

"This is where most people fail in my opinion...they believe that by purchasing a boxed solution they will not have to learn how to do basic programming! That is they believe this until they actually have the boxed solution installed than find out that everything from their own ISP's configurations to cross browser problems has an effect on their 100% plug and pray solution."~Redmanz

In less than 2 weeks, May 30th to be exact, I'll be turning 30 years old. I don't know that I really see it as the milestone that most people do and I'm not up in arms about it either. Perhaps in 10 years when I turn 40 it will feel that way.

Turning 30 just hasn't been a big deal for me. In fact, I can't even figure out how I'd like to celebrate it (if at all)...

So why am I even blogging about it? Well heck it is my birthday we're talking about and I guess I'd like to do something special for it (but not just because it is a "milestone"). I just can't think of what that might be and I figured if I blog about it perhaps some of you reading this might leave a comment with some suggestions.

My birthday falls on Memorial Day (Observed) this year. (Trivia: May 30th is always Memorial Day, but it is celebrated on the last Monday of the month which is technically Memorial Day Observed.) Mondays aren't exactly a "party" night around here, so please keep that in mind when making any suggestions. Thanks!

On April 20th my son turned 5 years old and my mom turned a year older than she was last year. (I know how old, but she'd probably prefer I don't announce it.)

The theme for Gaetano's birthday was The Incredibles. All of us wore paper Incredibles masks to dinner at Bucca D'Beppo. One of the waiters was a big fan of the film and looked like he could be Frozone. As he walked by our table he impersonated Frozone by shouting, "Honey, where is my super suite? Where is my super suit!?" We all cracked up laughing; it was great. So of course we gave him a mask to wear too. Two other servers also wore the masks.

Since Gaetano and my mom share a birthday they also shared the birthday cake I made for them with The Incredibles figurines as decoration. It had Frozone sliding in on some ice that was made of icing and rock candy, which Gaetano just loved.

Gaetano got a really cool Blue 16" Sting Ray bicycle, airplanes and a bunch of other cool gifts. I'm sure this will be a birthday party he never forgets.

Keep an eye on this post for an update... I'll be posting pictures in the coming week.

In a desperate search for a cereal without any potassium (due to my allergy of it), I have recently discovered All Newman's Own Wild Blueberry Pecan cereal. (I would provide a direct link to the exact product but unfortunately it doesn't seem to be on their website and neither does Costo's site which is where I purchased the cereal.)

Since it is all natural that means Gaetano can have it too because there are no artificial colors. For me that's a double win.

So what's this got to do wiht generosity? Well, I was reading the side of the box and it says, "Paul Newman, as sole owner of Newman's Own, donates all his profitss and royalties after taxes for educational and charitable purposes." Wow... His website says that he's donated over 150 million dollars since 1982.

Mr. Newman has given me a reason beyond our allergies to try his products. I'll be buying more of this cereal for certain and trying out more All Natural Newman's Own brand products for sure.

I wish I'd found this cereal sooner! (I've been searching for over a year now.) Hopefully the rest of his products are as tasty and healthy...

If you know of any of his products that are especially good (low fat, and potassium free are preferable) please feel free to post a comment or send me an email. Thanks!

Ben Forta has said it well, "Since the announcement hit the wire this morning, the various ColdFusion related lists have been buzzing with rumors, speculation, and predictions. Of course, that is all they are, rumors, speculation, and predictions. I don't think anyone really knows what this means for any product yet, and it'll be a while until all that gets figured out." (Read Ben's entire blog post for more of his take on the acquisition of Macromedia by Adobe.)

I have been asked by several people what I think will happen to both Dreamweaver and ColdFusion. First, I'm not sure it really matters what I think. Second, I don't know and thinking about it only makes my head hurt wondering. I'm waiting for answers just like anybody else.

To that end, if I happen to spot any info online that might be of interest to those reading my blog I'll be sure to point it out. I have no inside scoop to dish out and was completely surprised when I heard the news. (When my boyfriend told me I thought he was just teasing me!)

There has also been the usual attempts to discredit any reactions favoring Macromedia given by a Team Macromedia Member. (I happen to be a TMM.) It seems to be popular belief that TMMs must at all times sing the praises of Macromedia and their products no matter what happens.

I guess I can't blame people for making that assumption. It does make sense that we speak in favor of Macromedia. However, to the best of my knowledge, nowhere is it written that we must never criticize and only say good things when it comes to Macromedia and their products. Sure, it is probably in our best interest to do so if we want to remain TMMs... (After all team members should like the team they're playing for else the other people on the team won't want them around, right?)

I trust that when someone such as Ben Forta says that ColdFusion MX 7 is selling very well (even though he couldn't share exact numbers), that it truly is selling well. I don't doubt him; the quarterly reports should be out soon enough to prove his statements to anyone who does have doubt.

To me it makes sense that a product that sells well will not be dumped as a result of the acquisition. Does that mean it won't be dumped? I already said I don't know; I have no inside scoop! I sure wish I did though...

In the meantime, I will wait for more news from Macromedia and\or Adobe and refrain from speculations best I can.

Shortly after Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004 was released, I made this recording of Gaetano. I could have sworn that I blogged it at the time, but I can't find a post referencing it. It must have been one of those times I started blogging and got distracted or something...

Gaetano now recognizes both the Macromedia logo and the Dreamweaver logo too, as well as the words Macromedia and Dreamweaver. He's always proud to point out that he knows them both.

If you listen to the recording, he doesn't say Macromedia but he does say Dreamweaver. Back then he could only say mack-ee-me-tee-uh, but gradually it became Macromedia. He now says Dreamweaver properly as well.

Guess I'd better start teaching him to say Adobe and showing him their logo as well! Should be a lot easier to say, what with so few syllables. <grin />

If it were April 1st, I'd think it was a hoax. April Fools lasts all month to some but this would be one elaborate prank. With that out of the way, you can see proof that Macromedia is being acquired by Adobe at both of their websites.

Adobe's site is running super slow right now, probably due to the load of traffic. Be patient; the URLs provided above link to the press release on their respecitive websites. Macromedia's home page is currently linking to a page on Adobe's website that has a lot of information.

Gaetano is at that age where he'll ask a question, I'll give him an answer and then a moment later he asks the same thing again. It is as though he thinks he'll get a different answer the second time.

I've learned to answer him once and when he asks again I have him tell me what I answered. If he asks again, I'll tell him, "Don't ask again or [insert consequence here]". Sometimes he does this when I'm reading him a story just so he can stay up longer and in that case the consequence is usually "no more story".

Tonight he was reading me a story. (He tries to read but it is more like making up a story based on the pictures.) He'd been "reading" for quite some time.

Me [teasingly]: Are you done yet?

Gaetano [sternly]: Don't ask again or no more story.

Me [opportunistically]: Are you done yet?

Gaetano: [He pauses a moment before closing the book, keeping his finger in place just in case.] That's it; no more story.

Me [convincingly pouting]: No more story for mama. [fake sad face]

I turned my laughter into a little bit of fake crying.

Gaetano: That's ok, next month.

Me: Next month you'll read me a story? [He nods] Ok. [I grin]

We said our goodnights, hugged and kissed, and then I turned off the lights and walked out with a huge grin that turned into laughter once I was back in the office where he couldn't hear.

Leave it to me to try something silly like this...

If you've joined the Dance Dance Revolution craze, then you can have a little extra fun with those dance mats that it uses. Try playing games that don't require the joystick or triggers, like Tetris for example, using your feet. Playing Tetris takes quite a bit of energy and concentration, especially at the higher levels.

You should also try using your hands to push the oversized mat buttons. That sure gets tiring fast!

I've added a new section to my blog today called Speaking. That's where I plan to list my speaking engagements at conferences, user groups and other special events. This month there are two conferences I'll be giving presenations at, Powered by Detroit and TODCon.

I plan to eventually add past speaking engagements as well and possibly include past presentations and\or other materials related to my sessions such as links or extensions and whatnot.

If you have any ideas about ways I can improve what I've posted so far or have suggestions about things I can add to this section please be sure to leave a comment. I'll take any serious suggestions under consideration. - Thanks!

I just about had a heart attack, I was so startled. I'm in my office when I hear someone run up the stairs to my front door, an extremely loud thud, then running down the stairs.

My heart racing, I wonder what it could be. Then again, the same thing; running up the stairs, THUD, running down the stairs.

I'm still startled but realize it could be a delivery. I wonder what it could be since I'm not expecting anything...

As I open the front door, it happens again; running up the stairs, THUD, and the UPS guy runs down again.

I'm still a bit shaken up from the initial (then unidentified) thud, but pleased that three very heavy boxes are stacked by my door, each filled with copies of ColdFusion MX 7 Web Application Construction Kit.

Even as I type this message my heart is not quite back to its normal pace. Whatever happened to the days when the driver would knock or ring the doorbell...?

To make a really long story short, we have good reason to believe that Gaetano is allergic to artificial colors in food. For the last month or so now, we've done our best to avoid giving him anything artificially colored and let me tell you it hasn't been easy.

Since he's been off the artificial colors, he's no longer congested all the time. His behavior has improved in school, he's learning more, eating better with increased appetite, and he's grown at least an inch. Sure, some of that may be coincidental, but not all of it...

As soon as I find a moment to exhale, I'll schedule him to see an allergist to confirm my suspicions. I'm more confident than ever though that they'll be able to confirm my suspicions. In fact, if it turns out that he doesn't have an allergy to artificial food coloring, I'll be pretty shocked.

I haven't gotten my copy of the new ColdFusion MX 7 Web Application Construction Kit, but Ben has gotten his already and he's written about it on his blog. Ben has also published a description and the table of contents to his site for anyone looking for more info.

Hopefully my copy will be here tomorrow! Thanks to Ben for asking me back again. I am honored to have done my part, and have my name listed on the cover with such phenomenal authors.

Due out soon, is Macromedia ColdFusion MX 7 Web Application Construction Kit by Ben Forta and Ray Camden with Leon Chalnick and Angela C. Buraglia (that's me!). I only wrote chapter 2, which is an overview of Dreamweaver geared towards ColdFusion developers. (The new ColdFusion MX 7 extensions for Dreamweaver are covered in other chapters, not the one I wrote.)

Ben will be posting the table of contents on his site. I do have the back cover copy from the book that I can share:

Macromedia® ColdFusion® MX 7 Web application construction kit

The ColdFusion MX 7 Web Application Construction Kit is the latest edition of the best-selling ColdFusion book of all time-the one that most ColdFusion developers used to first learn the product.

This reference starts with ColdFusion fundamentals, then progresses to techniques for all the most critical functions, including creating data-driven pages, building complete applications, implementing security mechanisms, integration with email, building reusable functions and components, generating data driven reports and graphs, interacting with Macromedia Flash, and much more. From design and installation, to application deployment and troubleshooting, this book is all you need to succeed with ColdFusion MX 7.

New ColdFusion MX 7 features and options covered in this edition include:

• Using Dreamweaver MX 2004 extensions to simplify application development

• Creating printable documents in PDF and FlashPaper formats

• Leveraging ColdFusion's new reporting tool

• Generating engaging Flash forms

• Harnessing the power of XForms and XSL

• And much, much more

CD-ROM includes:

• Developer edition of ColdFusion MX 7

• Evaluation version of Dreamweaver MX 2004

• Ten bonus chapters on more advanced ColdFusion topics

• All source code and example applications

I just got done reading a post by Tom Muck about rogue extensions for Dreamweaver. Though his post is geared towards Dreamweaver, it is important to note that the same issues exist for other Macromedia programs such as Flash and Fireworks which also rely on the Extension Manager to install/uninstall extensions. Tom's post is a must-read for anyone using any Macromedia product that uses the Extension Manager to install extensions.

A rogue extension can come from any extension developer, including reputable companies. There are no regulations in place to prevent extensions from the problems described in Tom's post.

For the average user it is not easy to determine if the extensions offered by any particular person or business are safe to install without worry that their configuration will be corrupted. At this point, the average user is left to trial and error...

Rest assured that any extension that I've written and will write will never "overwrite" a Macromedia default file. If it means that I can't release the extension without modifying one of Macromedia's files, oh well. I'd rather know that I haven't caused the frustration of even a single extension user than be selfish and write my extensions without regard to repercussions.

I feel it is important to spread the word about the potential for problems. Tom's points are all very valid concerns. At the same time, I hesitate to write on this topic because it could easily be seen as trying to bash a potential competitor or further my own business.

On the other hand, if I say nothing at all, then what? The potential for conflicting extensions becoming a common problem is definitely there in my opinion. I can't just sit back knowing this and say absolutely nothing about it.

This post alone possibly risks causing certain companies/people to become upset with me for speaking out about it. I sure hope it doesn't ruffle any feathers because my intentions are good, but I guess that's a chance I'm taking...

I doubt it is Tom's intention, and it certainly is not my intention to scare people into avoiding extensions. If you run into a problem, removing\renaming your User's Configuration should restore things normal. Worst case scenario, you'll have to reinstall.

It's almost time for the 2nd Annual March Mingle to be held this Wednesday, March 16th at Dave N Busters in San Diego, California. There's no cost to attend, with free pool and finger foods. Just bring a few bucks for drinks.

There will be about 20 user groups represented this year from all over Southern California, who's focus range from web design, to Macromedia products, to operating systems, and programming languages. ColdFusion, .Net, PHP and general geeks alike (that's a compliment) will gather to eat, drink, shoot pool, socialize and network from 6:30pm to 10pm.

Oh, and you don't have to be a user group memeber to attend either. So even if you're not a user group member, you should come and shoot some pool, meet some people, and possibly win some very cool door prizes.

For the Dreamweaver users attending, Site-Drive Inc. (DWfaq.com) is donating a bundle of all DWfaq.com Dreamweaver extensions and Application Dynamics Inc. (Cartweaver.com) is donating a license of Cartweaver as door prizes.

There will even be some not-necessarily-just-for-geeks prizes, a very cool Cuetec Black Graphite Cue and a poker chip set courtesy of FiveStarBilliards.com. There will be more door prizes from Macromedia, The O'Reilly User Group Program, Sterling Ledet and Associates, and That Technical Bookstore too. With as many prizes as there are to be given away, there's a pretty good chance of winning something.

Gaetano has been learning the same mealtime prayer I learned when I was a little girl which is said before every meal where we're all at the dinner table together. It is the youngest person at the table's job to say the prayer. At this past Thanksgiving I whispered the words in his ear as he spoke them out loud. He could barely pronounce most of the words. All of us smiled at how adorable it was...

A few weeks later he wanted to memorize it himself and kept asking to pray and wanting to know the next part of the prayer. By Christmas he had the entire prayer memorized.

If before a meal anyone starts eating, he promptly remembers that we have to pray first and then he proceeds to lead us in prayer. I always let him know he's done a good job, but aside from that I haven't been encouraging -- that is, we're not prayer obsessive in our house. Gaetano has pretty much decided on his own that prayer should be done and not forgotten. It's rather cute and I'm proud of him for it.

Last night before dinner he misspoke one word that nearly caused the rest of us to burst out laughing, but we refrained. It went like this:

"Bless us O Lord, for these thy gifts which we are about to refreeze. Through thy bounty, through Christ our Lord, Amen."

(In case you're unfamiliar with this prayer, "refreeze" should have been "receive".) We decided to eat the meal and not refreeze it.

A good friend of mine, Nicole Fuller, is gearing up to participate in this year's Avon Walk for Breast Cancer held September 17-18, 2005. She can't do it without support and that's because she is required to raise a minimum of $1,800 to participate.

The link above will take you to Nicole's page where you can offer your support of this very worthy cause by making a donation of any dollar amount. Even if it is just a couple of dollars, it all adds up and you'll be helping Nicole reach her minimum and hopefully surpass it by lots more.

It's official folks, ColdFusion MX 7 is now available. If you weren't part of the very large public beta and don't already know what it's all about, be sure to take a look at the new features CF MX 7 brings.

There's a lot of juicy new bits, including application.cfc files, rich forms, the ability to create PDFs and FlashPaper documents on the fly, and so much more...

I'm also pleased to report that Cartweaver 2 CF works in ColdFusion MX 7 as well.

Sorry it's taken me so long to blog this folks... Wednesday night was the SDCFUG Meeting and I have to say it went really well once we got started. I had more than my usual projector problems and at the last minute had to borrow Dan's laptop because it had less trouble. (I had to look at the projection rather than my screen to see what I was doing.) Anyhow...

Having never seen CFEclipse until 2 hours prior to the meeting and only a vague idea of what its capabilities were, I think Rob and I managed to do a nice side-by-side comparison of CFEclipse and Dreamweaver. Both of us realize that the two products are complimentary and neither is intended to replace the other. To that end, our presentation was not a duel of any sort and very good natured and friendly.

As I understand it (and someone please correct me if I'm wrong), there is a limitation that prevents the usual switch back and forth abilities of Dreamweaver with CFEclipse. Hopefully that will be fixed in a future release of CFEclipse making the two programs even more complimentary.

I was quite impressed by Rob and all he's done (and the team that works on CFEclipse) with the program so far. There's a few features in it that I'd love to see in Dreamweaver, like "trigger text" which lets you assign keywords to snippets rather than a keyboard shortcut. Another nice feature that's similar to Site< Locate in Site that fires automatically was pretty cool. I loved that the tag attibutes that you use get removed from the list of available attributes.

I was surprised that all of the attendees have Dreamweaver and use it except for one who chose not to use it since he's mostly a .NET guy anyhow. Usually the CF groups I speak with don't even want to look at Dreamweaver let alone hear about it, so this is a nice change indeed.

I'm going to try to make it to future San Diego meetings, and look forward to the oppurtunity to speak there again in the future. It was nice meeting all of you!

HomeSite/CFStudio and CFEclipse, Dreamweaver definitely is not. Perhaps someday it will be, maybe not...all that remains to be seen. In the meantime, please if you want to see Dreamweaver add features that are part of your other favorite editors be sure to tell Macromedia.

If you're in the Southern California area, I'll be speaking at tomorrow night's San Diego CF User Group meeting. I'll be talking about using Dreamweaver as a ColdFusion developer and Rob Rohan will be speaking about CFEclipse.

Don't be shy; be sure to say hello if you attend. Attendees usually go out afterwards, so plan for a nice evening out with fellow geeks!

More info: http://www.sdcfug.org/

Gaetano [pointing to some identical objects on my desk]: What is that?

Angela: Ram chips.

Gaetano: What do they taste like?

Angela [holding back laughter]: Those aren't for eating! [grinning] They're for computers.

Gaetano: I was only just teasing. [pretending to eat one and chew it] Ow, ow, ow, owie. [he giggles]

Macromedia has brought back Macrochats by popular demand. Macrochats are live Breeze presentations by Macromedia which have a chat room going during the presentation with questions at the end answered by the presenter.

There's a new Macrochat scheduled for January 18th, 2005 by Macromedia Product Support Engineer David Alcala that covers a wide range of troubleshooting tips and techniques for Dreamweaver users encountering FTP problems you may want to consider attending if you've ever had FTP problems in Dreamweaver. You need to register to attend, so don't delay because space is limitted.

My son was sitting on the floor in my office, playing with a wooden mosaic puzzle (much like this one but with 3 different shapes) while I was having a conversation with someone.

Gaetano [mildly frustrated]: I need some patience... Me: Yes you do; you can do it.

[A couple minutes later, I begin conversing again.]

Gaetano [quite annoyed, almost shouting]: I said, I need some patience! Me: Yes, I know. [pause] Gaetano, what does patience mean? Gaetano: It means you have to be quiet so I can do my work.

[I try desperately to resist laughing hysterically.]

Apparantly all those times he asked me something while I was working and I told him to "wait just a minute and be patient" he thought I was asking him to be quiet! I can easily see how he'd come to that conclusion... It was just too cute.

We've been working on Cartweaver ASP for what seemed like an eternity, and now it is finally available. Dan posted on his blog that he's finally done. Ha, he's too funny. There will be customers to support, add-ons to create and who knows what else... The way I see it, we're never "done". <grin />

Writing a single toolbar to manage multiple Cartweaver server models was no easy task let me tell you. (It's ok if you give me a blank stare, nearly everyone else does when I start talking about coding extensions.) I laid the groundwork for multiple versions from day one, but there were things that I couldn't have accounted for that needed adjusting when the time came to actually support multiple server models.

As it turned out, the ASP version required several more fields in its Setup, so that brought along a whole new interface for the Setup that is similar to the Preferences dialog in Dreamweaver. Then "feature creep" set in and I started adding other new features to the extension. Before we knew it I'd added context help icons for nearly every field in each dialog that pop up a little window that tells you what the field is for and its valid values.

I added a bunch more little features here and there that most people would take for granted. I won't bore you with all of them, but one of them is that if you make a mistake in a certain field, the error message tells you which field, then switches to the right category for you and puts focus in that field so you can make the correction right away.

If you read my post yesterday you know all about DWfaq CCR. Cartweaver ASP uses DWfaq CCR's syntax for conditional regions already because Dan has been using CCR nearly 2 years now. So it was decided among the Cartweaver Team that it would be cool if Cartweaver ASP could render the tabbed regions like you see when using <cfif> in ColdFusion.

So we decided to go ahead and add an ultra-lite version of the CCR translator, of DWfaq's CCR for Cartweaver since I already had the work done. Cartweaver ASP customers will see "CWASP: If" in the tab, but if DWfaq's CCR is installed the If statement itself renders in the tab.

You're still reading this? Wow, that's great...thank you. Anyway, I don't want to bore you so I'll quit while I'm ahead. <wink />

I'm sure I'll end up babbling about Cartweaver here again soon. Thanks for listening...

Since I've been back from MAX it's been non-stop work! I've been coding extensions and making site updates all day and all night... Below is the official announcement of some the work I've been doing in addition to the soon-to-be-released Cartweaver 2 ASP.

If you have any questions please let me know!

CCR began nearly 2 years ago, but never got packaged for public use because I always had one thing or another going on. I can't express how pleased that I am to finally release it! I must take this opportunity to thank Dan for all his hard work and patience. I'd also like to thank Tom Muck for introducing me to writing translators the EDML way nearly 2 years ago. I wouldn't have been able to do CCR without you two...thanks guys! I'll add another tick to the tally of beers I owe you both... ;-)

Whoever decided to call it a funny bone had a very sick sense of humor... ~Angela

Well, it looks like one of the links I provided in my Dreamweaver Killer Tips session is down. Good news is, I have a new link for you and I'll see about getting my presentation updated. The link I'm refering to is to Tom Muck's Speedup Hints for Dreamweaver MX article which covers a variety of methods you can use to help speed up Dreamweaver. (Though it was originally written for Dreamweaver MX, it still applies to Dreamweaver MX 2004.) The new link to his article is: http://www.tom-muck.com/articles/speedhints/

Thanks Tom for getting that taken care of so quickly for me!

I just wanted to post a few words about the Community Pit at MAX. If you didn't stop by there you seriously missed out, especially if you didn't come by on Tuesday after the conference was done for the day. All you had to do was talk to one of the TMM's or MMUG managers to get a raffle ticket to win a cool bag. There were at least 20 given away and several t-shirts given out too.

At the Community Pit there was also a little introduction to Macromedia.com's new knowledge base. "If you put your hands on the keyboard and try it, you get (free) Louisiana hot sauce."

There were huge comfy bean bag chairs and cables for getting connected to the internet for those without wireless access. It's the hangout spot for TMMs and MMUG managers, making it the place to go to get your burning questions answered by non-MM employees. (There was also an area of MM product support engineers answering questions.)

If you missed "the pit" this year, be sure to stop by next year. I'm sure there'll be more fun to be had, and we're a friendly bunch who loves to talk to people. Don't be shy!

Thanks to Amy Brooks, Ed Sullivan, Scott Fegette, Christine Lawson and any others who were responsible for the Community Pit and the sponsored event. I had a great time. (Special thanks to Amy for going easy on us with the t-shirts this year. In comparison to the ones we had to wear last year, these were great!)

Thursday was the final day of Macromedia MAX 2004. This year was even better than the last, and I'm already looking forward to next year's MAX. (Hopefully, next year will be scheduled a tad further away from Halloween or other holiday.)

I met a few people at lunch yesterday that were at the same table who were at MAX last year and caught my last year's session and my session this year. I'd been worried that people who attended both years would not be happy to see some of the same tips. They assured me they were more than satisfied with the ammount of new content, so I'm relieved.

There were a few people I didn't meet that I had hoped to meet. If you're Steve from Fig Leaf or Randy Edmunds from Macromedia and you're reading this, I kept my eye out for you but didn't find you. Mike Hazard, I was also hoping I'd get the chance to introduce myself and say congrats on the MAX award. When they played the video, your name seemed very familiar to me, and sure enough you're also a DWfaq.com customer. :-) Hopefully I'll get to meet all three of you next time!

It's always nice to meet the people that I exchange emails with and DWfaq.com or Cartweaver.com customers. This year I met Cornel Ivanescu, who is using Cartweaver to sell registration for the upcoming ColdFusion and Flash focussed Powered by Detroit conference in April 2005. (Cornel, it was a pleasure meeting you and see you in April!) I also met Scott Fegette, Christine Lawson, Ray Camden, Rob Christiansen, Angela Kozlowski, Michael and Judy Dinowitz, Adam Bell, Shlomy Gantz, Simon Horwith and quite a few people who's first names I remember and last names I can't remember how to spell so please forgive the exclusion here. ;-)

It's an overwhelming experience meeting so many people! Here's hoping that I get to see all of you again next year at MAX (or other event) and if I draw a blank on your name, please don't hold it against me. I'm terrible with names, but after we meet a second time I usually can remember...

Until next year...cheers!

Wednesday I gave my session twice, both having the same projector issues. Nobody was able to solve the problem, so I adjusted the same way I did on Tuesday. The audience was understanding, and I didn't get started late at the second session, so all the better. (The projector guy messed everything up so nothing was working and I had to figure out how to get it back myself, so we started about 5 minutes late. He had checked extended desktop, oy!)

Both sessions were well attended and audience feedback tells me they learned at least 2 things. In one of the sessions I asked if they learned 3, 4, 5, and 6 things. Half of the room was still raising their hand at 6 things! I was amazed and naturally quite pleased. C'mon, can you blame me? I admit, I get a big kick out of seeing eyes lighting up when they learn something new. The best part has been talking with attendees one on one and showing them how to do things that are new to them.

There was a special cocktail hour even for Team Macromedia members, User Group managers, and instructors at the Hilton hotel nearby the conference center. I saw lots of pictures being taken, so if you know where I can find them do let me know. A few were snapped of me talking with various people while enjoying a Corona. (Hey, you can't expect me to turn away a free beer. Well, at least not the first one since one is my limit...)

Later on we went to the Macromedia event held at Mardi Gras World. It was interesting to see all the floats, but the event as a whole wasn't too exciting for me. I would have rather they thrown it at the aquarium and let it be a more quiet event, but perhaps that's just me.

Those who read my blog regularly are probably noticing an influx of posts... Well, I wrote the previous post at MAX in a .txt file then forgot to post it much until later. Sorry! I'm also fudging the time stamp on this one and a few more. I know, I know... Cut me a little slack will ya? These conferences are so busy that I just didn't find the time to post sooner. Now, on with Tuesday...

Last night Dan, Joe Marini and I went to a tasty little place in the French Quarter called Bayona with the folks from Lynda.com. The food was incredible, and the company was very nice. It's always fun hanging out with Joe and talking about Dreamweaver's extensibility.

If you get the chance to go to Bayona and you're a fan of garlic like I am, be sure to try the Cream of Garlic Soup. Yummmmm

I just finished my first presenation of Dreamweaver Killer Tips at Macromedia MAX 2004. Aside from a few typos in my slides (the slides should be updated on Macromedia's site in the coming week) and a projection glitch, I think it went over pretty well. Whenever I give a tips session, I make it my goal to teach the audience at least two things they didn't know before they came to my session. From the show of hands it looks like I accomplished my goal.

Unfortunately a problem with the projector got me started about 5 minutes late. It was cutting off the first 300 pixels of my screen so I had to adjust. Instead of doing the Power Point full screen as a slide show, I had to open Power Point and click through the slides along the left. Things weren't as large this way unfortunately but at least it was all showing.

My presentation is available online at Macromedia's site for conference attendees. I noticed a few typos in the slides, and will get those fixed and over to Macromedia so they can upload the changes. The typos weren't anything too major. I'll list them here so that those who don't want to download again (or wait for Macromedia to upload the changes).

On the slide "How to Create collapsing Borders" it should say: table.tabulardata, tabular.tabulardata td, tabular.tabulardata th{ border: 1px solid #000000; border-collapse: collapse; }

There was a funky character encoding going on in the "Resources: Extensions for Dreamweaver" slide that changed a line continuation character into something that looked like an E with a ^ above it. The URL should be: http://www.macromedia.com/exchange/dreamweaver/

Two silly mistakes of which I'm sorry. Hopefully if you were there you learned at least 2 things and that made up for the typos and projector glitches. Thanks to everyone for their patience with the pojection issue.

Feel free to leave any comments or questions here on my blog or shoot me an email (at the address on the last slide). I'm always my worst critic, and know I'll do better the next 3 times. :-)

Thanks!

"When you say run for your life, it makes you run faster." ~Gaetano

My son Gaetano has been attending a Montessori Preschool (thanks to his yiayia for footing the bill on that) for a bit over a year now. He seems to enjoy it for the most part, and he seems to have learned a great deal.

I'm curious if any of my blog-reading audience (that's you), have experience with the Montessori education process and am interested in hearing about them. Please feel free to leave comments on my blog with your likes, dislikes, suggestions for helping the child get the most out of the way they are taught, etc. I appreciate your input.

Please note, comments are not automatically posted and if you'd rather I don't make your comment public you can just let me know and I'll honor your request.

Thanks!

Phew! I finally finished Template-Lover's Suite 3 a few days ago and am able to let everyone know it. TLS3 (because I'm to lazy to type out the whole name over and over again) took way more work than I was expecting it to and as a result, a whole lot longer to release than I'd ever imagined.

I began working on TLS3 almost exactly one year ago. Time sure flies... For those wondering what took sooooo long, it was a matter of creating all new PNG icons for Dreamweaver MX 2004 and having to fight with Dreamweaver for MX and Macintosh compatibility. I'm making it sound much simpler than it is, really... Anyhow, it is finally done and I'm thrilled with the results.

TLS 3 adds a new Template-Lover's Suite toolbar, Jump to Region, and Insert Template Parameter. For more info on my latest creation, check out the details at DWfaq.com.

Great big thanks to all my beta testers that I drove crazy with questions and my usual pickiness. (I simply can't release something until I'm pleased with it. "Satisfied" doesn't cut it.) Thanks to all of the TLS2 customers who've been waiting anxiously yet patiently for the new version.

Extra special thanks to Dan Short, my partner in DWfaq, for putting up with me through the tedious process of getting this product tested and online. I owe you even more...

You go to sleep too mama. You need your rest.

The only really good thing to come of politics is comedy. ~Angela

I'll be presenting Dreamweaver Killer Tips at this year's Macromedia MAX conference being held in New Orleans from November 1-4.

It's best to register early for MAX because you have to choose your schedule in advance and sessions do fill up quickly. Last year I gave the session only three times, and it was full for all but the final presentation (but I think it was not quite filled because it was last session in its track of the last day). So this year, they're having me do the session four times!

I won't be giving the exact same presentation, though a few tips are too cool that I will have to include them even though I did them last year. Not all tips are in the book either, so Killer Tips fanatics can walk away with something new too.

What kind of tips do you want to see? Let me know by leaving a comment. Hurry though, I have deadlines to meet that are coming up really really fast. (Macromedia doesn't mess around; they have all sorts of deadlines for presenters months in advance of the conference. It's very well organized.)

I mean it; let me know what kind of tips you want...ColdFusion, CSS, WorkFlow, etc. ? Click the link* to leave a comment already...c'mon, you know you want to... Do it frenchy!

• If you don't see an Add Comments link, you're reading this from an RSS feed. Here's the URL for commenting on this post:

http://www.dwmommy.com/addcomment.asp?id=503

Earlier today I received this anonymous comment under my previous post:

Yesterday I celebrated my 29th birthday. I had lunch at my favorite local sushi place, Miyako in La Mirada with my family. Food was wonderful as usual, and I was treated with a wonderful sushi floral arrangement made of salmon and albacore sashimi and fried California rolls. Though this picture looks like the roses are made of thick slices of fish, they are actually sliced very thin, each rose made of about 12 slices.

After stuffing ourselves with lots of sushi, Gaetano helped me open my gifts which included a sashimi knife from my dad, a book all about sushi from my brother and sister-in-law as well as a gift certificate to a sushi preperation class.

Mom, who even hesitates to eat chicken terriyaki for fear they won't cook it enough, didn't go with the sushi trend. She gave me a set of 4 vanilla decorative candles and a Vornado 210B air circulation system that I'm really looking forward to testing out. (I don't have air conditioning here and summers are brutal.)

From Gaetano (via my mom), I was given a date displaying paperweight. It is hard to describe, but it is made of wood blocks that have numbers that can form the current date. There is a set of 3 blocks, each having a different month on each of their 4 sides. The blocks allow you to form any date of the year.

After lunch, we made a quick dash over to my brother's house and had cake. It was a bit rushed because I had a 3 o'clock appointment at Burke Williams and it was already 15 after 2.

I barely made it to Burke Williams in time for my full session massage, courtesy of John and Andrea (bother and sister-in-law) alla Christmas 2003 gift certificate. I swear, they give the best gift certificates!

So after my massage, I really wanted to soak in a jacuzzi but in the rush of the day I'd forgotten my swimsuit. Swimsuits are optional, but I really didn't feel up to it this time.

I decided to treat myself to the Calistoga Getaway. It's not like me to splurge and spend money on myself like this at all... With all my health problems recently, I figured a body wrap couldn't hurt if it indeed does rid the body of toxins. I'm so glad I did, and hope to be able to afford the luxury again once I recover from paying off all my medical debt.

Those who know me well know that I very rarely have occasion to get out of the house for time to myself, so this was a much needed break. All in all it was a very nice birthday that won't soon be forgotten. Thanks to everyone who made it special!

Oh, almost forgot... I even got a special sushi birthday poem/song written just for me from a friend (you know who you are ;-)) in Canada:

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to ~Angela, Happy Birthday to you!

May you live to a thousand and one, May you drink loads and loads of rum, Enjoy raw fish, you sexy dish, Happy Birthday to you!

I think this is what they should sing for birthdays in Japanese restaurants. Would be quite funny...

I wish that I could set up a message rule in Outlook to send off an auto-reply to all messages received containing spelling errors. The auto-reply would read something like, "I'm sorry, but your message contained spelling errors and has been marked as spam. Please correct all spelling errors and try again." As a courtesy I would provide a link to tutorials on how to set up Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora, and other popular email programs to automatically check spelling before sending. The message rule would either move all these messages to a special folder or delete them.

Perhaps the message rule could check for people in my contact list. This way, it doesn't hurt anyone's feelings. ;-) (The sender may not be bad at spelling, but simply suffer from typlexia.)

I think that this would be the Ultimate Spam Blocker... What do you think?

Yesterday's presentation was my first time presenting using Breeze Live. It seemed the presentation was well received despite that I wasn't as collected in my thoughts as I usually am. Had the hours prior to the session not been so hectic, I'd have been more "together". Although friends present said they couldn't tell anything was wrong, it still affected me to a small degree.

To do a Breeze Live presentation, it is recommended that you have a second computer set up in the meeting as a guest. This computer is used to see what your audience sees so that you can account for delays.

So I turn on my desktop and the mouse is busted. I run out to Circuit City to pick up a new one. I get back, restart, and my keyboard doesn't work! I have a required login, so I can't even get logged in. I try everything, finally resorting to an old keyboard from another computer (that won't start either and can't connect to the internet). Luckily, it worked!

Now it is nearing time for me to join the meeting. I have to be hardwired (as oposed to my wireless connection) during the presentation. I switch over and my entire internet connection dies on the network. I'm frantic by now, thinking I'm not going to make it. With some sound advice and calming words from Dan, I rebooted the router and after a couple of minutes the internet came back up. Phew!

Once I'm in the meeting, I am looking around for the special Presenter controls and I'm not finding them. I buzzed the moderator and didn't get a reply. I'm in the room only as a guest, uh oh. I try to send a message to her, and accidentally send it to the whole meeting...D'oh! Amy called me, and got me hooked up just in time.

I didn't have my usual couple of minutes to collect my thoughts and get in presenter mode, but it went fine. After a few minutes, I was alright.

It's tricky doing Breeze Live, and next time it will be much easier. There is so much to pay attention to. You have to watch the other monitor to be sure it is updating for the audience. You need to remember to click a few buttons (wish it were just one) to share the screen. You have to remember to then switch back to slides. All the while you are supposed to try and ignore the chat window that's whizzing past you. Then your other computer goes to screensaver and you have to wake it up so you can make sure what the audience is seeing is the same thing you're talking about.

As overwhelming as it was, I loved it. I know I could give the same presentation again much better, and hope to have the opportunity to do so. Even if I do a different one, now I know what to expect with Breeze Live and it will go much smoother next time.

Thanks to all who attended for being there, especially the Cartweaver customers who joined us. It was nice to see so many familiar names present. The thanks and grattitude was overwhelming. Thanks again to those who sent private chats and email. You're all so very kind!

Of course, thanks to Dan for helping me out -- both with the internet connection and fielding questions during the presentation.

If any of you have any feedback, I'd be happy to hear it as it really helps me to do better in the future. I'm really looking forward to doing this again.

I'll be giving a live online presentation tomorrow, Tuesday May 18th at 4pm Pacific, for Macromedia's Community Week. Here's the official description:

Dreamweaver MX 2004 Killer Tips with ColdFusion Discover little-known features and pick up some tips-n-tricks for Dreamweaver MX 2004 specifically geared towards ColdFusion users. This presentation covers concepts that range from basic to advanced.

You must register (it's free!) for this presentation as participation is limited. (You will need to scroll to the bottom of the table Tuesday May 18th.)

According to Engadget, "Japanese sushi chain Toriton has installed an IBM voice-recognition system for ordering." The article continues to describe a system that lets the chef buzz the table, you place your order, and what you order prints up on a slip for them. Sounds like sitting at some of the sushi bars that I've been to, only they have to memorize my order because writing it all down with fishy hands is a bother.

Sushi is one of my favorite foods, but it can easily be ruined if my request for no cucumber is forgotten or never reaches the chef. So many times I'm disappointed and have to pick it out of my sushi or send it back (which I rarely do unless I know I made it super clear and I wrote it on the ticket neatly where it couldn't be missed).

I can't wait for this technology to come to a sushi bar near me..."No cucumber on anything tonight please. I'd like a philly roll. No cucumber. One Alaska roll... No cucumber. One Hawaiian roll, no cucumber. One albacore garlic roll. No cucumber. Thank you so much. No cucumber. That should be enough for now. No cucumber. Oh, and no ginger either. Thanks!"

Maybe I should learn some Japanese. Anyone care to teach me how to say, "No cucumber please. Thank you."? :-)

Gaetano turned 4 years old today! My son shares a birthday with my mom. When asked how old his yiayia (that's greek for grandma) is, he proclaimed with confidence, "5!" :-)

4 years ago I gave my mom the best birthday present...I've never been able to top that since. I love them both and wish them many years of happiness.

Get your mind out of the gutter people... :-) Last week I released a new extension, Strip List Whitespace, which fixes a bug in Internet Explorer on the PC. The download response to this extension has been utterly amazing. I think it is because this is one of those "must have" type of free extensions. There are other ways to remove the whitespace, but it all comes down to personal preference, and this happens to be mine.

I also updated Strip <?xml?> Tag, which removes the XML prologue which throws Internet Explorer into quirks mode. The update was to fix a bug found only in Dreamweaver MX 2004, that kept the extension from running if the document was currently in Code view.

They're both on my Free Extensions page, so you can read more about them there. As always, they're only available for download from the DWfaq Store, where I host all my free and commercial products.

Let me just say wow...I just installed the FireFox Web Developer Tools and wow... Have I said wow yet?

Here I am in an audio chat with Dan. I install the toolbar at his suggestion. Here's what happened...

Me: Disable Domain Cookies, Disable Cookies, Disable Image, Disable Java, Disable JavaScript, Disable Styles...? Wow...

Dan: And that's just the first button!

Me: I know!!!

Does this mean we're super geeky? :-)

Chris Pederick wrote the Web Developer Tools and he's also done a User Agent Switcher that I'll be checking out. There's some screenshots and details at his site if you're not the adventurous type to install without knowing first what you're getting... (Chris, I don't know you but I like you already. Thanks so much!)

I really should have blogged about this sooner, I know... I'm going to make an effort to post speaking engagments well in advance, really! :-)

Yesterday I gave a Productivity Tips for Dreamweaver MX 2004 session at the SCCFUG Winter Conference in Costa Mesa, CA. Some of the tips were from our book, but some where not. This was the first time I've ever spoken to a purely ColdFusion crowd and it looks like it won't be the last either. I truly enjoyed the experience.

All in all, I think the session was well received. A quick poll of the audience showed me that most people learned at least 2 things about Dreamweaver that they didn't know. Many learned 3 and I didn't poll for 4. I am guessing that there would have been around half or more though. I even caught a gal bouncing in her chair in excitement over learning something. I love that kind of reaction!

I spent a good amount of time answering questions even after my session in the lobby and at the bar afterwards. (Thanks to the folks from Blue World for sponsoring drinks! I was teased for my O'Douls but I enjoyed it just the same as the real stuff.) Oh yeah, questions...

Unfortunately there were several complaints about Dreamweaver corrupting code. Almost all complaints came from Dreamweaver MX users. There were only one or two that had problems with Dreamweaver MX 2004. Macromedia really seems to care about code trust and have put a lot into DW MX 2004, but it still has the occasional hiccup it seems. In a few cases, I was able to offer workarounds. In most however, all I could suggest was to try the trial version of 2004 and see if it still happens. If there is a problem in 2004 I couldn't solve the best I could say was to report it to Macromedia and send them test files if possible.

At the end of my session, I had 7 prizes to give away. I'm known for my typlexia. This time I decided to ask the audience to look at their copies of the session in the handbook and point out my typos for a prize. I gave away 3 copies of Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004 Killer Tips, 3 copies of Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004 Magic, and one license to Cartweaver 2 CF.

I wish the event lasted longer. For me, these types of events are like going to summer camp. I work from a home office and have little contact with adults. The opportunity to hang out with fellow geeks is a very welcome one. I really enjoyed meeting everyone and the opportunity to see a few folks again that I'd already met elsewhere.

As it turns out, I am in fact mildly anemic. I'm starting on Iron therapy which should help. Sure explains why I get tired so easily; I'm relieved it wasn't my thyroid causing tiredness.

I've had congestion/sinusits over the last 6 months or so, and so has Gaetano. Finally, my regular doctor saw me while I had symptoms. (Usually he's always booked and I get stuck seeing someone else. He's very good, and hence quite popular. Dr. Sobral has been my doctor for about 24 years now.) As it turns out, this is a chronic condition, and should be treated (in what I consider to be) in an agressive manner.

I'll be taking a pricey brand-name medication, Augmentin (which is an anti-biotic) for 3 weeks, along with 2 other medications. There is no generic, which means I've now met $210.40 of my $500 annual deductible for brand name medication. Yep, I said it was pricey didn't I? ;-)

Getting rid of my constant "colds" (that's how I think of them) and treating my anemia should give me back quite a bit of energy and strength. I'm so looking forward to feeling healthy again, I cannot even explain it properly. I'm feeling like there's hope now for wellness! :-)

Back in late October, we launched Cartweaver 2. It has been an incredible few months since. Cartweaver is selling in record numbers, and I couldn't be more excited about it. This version is such a gigantic improvement over Cartweaver 1, and that's no marketing hype either.

If you haven't heard of Cartweaver yet, it is a ColdFusion shopping cart and adminstration area built specifically to be compatible with Dreamweaver MX and Dreamweaver MX 2004. The biggest changes in this version are the improved database, choice of 3 different ways to display products, a complete PDF user's manual that's nearly 100 pages, and the Cartweaver 2 extension suite.

My role in all of this is primarily extension development. My other work includes CSS, help documentation, the Cartweaver site and first level support on the Cartweaver newsgroup.

Back in May of 2003, Dan, Lawrence and I met in San Francisco and began working together on Cartweaver 2. (Lawrence had already begun, but Dan and I joined in at that time.) Over the next few months we worked daily and we're all very proud of the outcome.

I can't explain just how proud I am of the Cartweaver 2 extension suite especially. I've put my heart and soul into building these extensions, from creating the icons pixel by pixel in Fireworks to writing the HTML and JavaScript in Dreamweaver. I even built a couple of translators which required me to use HomeSite because Dreamweaver would try and translate my code and corrupt it. All in all it has been a great learning experience for me. I've become a much better programer because of my work on Cartweaver 2.

I would be remiss to not thank Massimo Foti and Danilo Celic for giving me permission to use a few of their functions, saving me the time to build my own. I must also thank Tom Muck for pushing me in the right direction on more than one occasion, helping me get over the code writer's block. Last but not least, a special thanks goes to Dan for inspiring some damn cool array code and showing me the way. Thanks guys!

Anyhow, enough rambling from me. If you have any questions or comments about Cartweaver 2 and/or my work on the project I'd be happy to hear from you.

Preface: Gaetano will oftern refuse an item insisting on having "the other one". He'll cry and whine until he gets it too.

Me: Why is it that kids will want another thing that is identical to the one they have, instead of the one they already have?

Dan: Cause he's a toddler, and he has micro-difference vision. You lose that around 4 or 5.

Conclusion: I think Dan may be right. :-)

Good news; the bone scan came back negative. Bad news is, I still have no idea what's caused the calcification on my ribs and the slew of other recent health problems.

I'm scheduled to see the doctor on Friday to discuss what we can do at this point. He's at a loss for ideas at the moment. My big question for him is how concerned I should be about the calcium, and what long term problems can it cause me. What should I expect might happen? I'd rather be prepared and informed.

I'll certainly keep the blog updated. Thanks to all of you who have expressed your concern both here and privately.

I'm happy to report that I'm about 90% over my cold that I caught from Gaetano. He's about 80% better with a cough and congestion still lingering.

At the begining of this month, I had a chest x-ray done because I was experiencing some pain on my right rib cage. When I inhaled it was obvious that my right side was very different. A lump could be felt along my rib cage where it hurt. As it turned out, I had disturbed a floating rib and it was out of place. In time it will heal itself and already is much better.

While looking at the x-ray, Dr. Del Campo noticed something unusual. He spotted several splinters of calcium along my rib cage. With a thyroid history and remaining nodule (goiter) in my neck, the recent gall stones, and the osteochondroma on my leg his suspicion was that my parathyroid was functioning abnormally. The parathyroid controls calcium, an ingredient found in gall stones and in the bone growth that I had.

He scheduled some blood work and a P.E.T. Scan. My blood results came back normal, much to my surprise. I thought for sure that he'd finally found the missing link -- the cause of all my health problems. No such luck... The P.E.T. Scan was put off because the hospital felt it was unlikely my insurance would cover it, so Dr. Del Campo ordered a bone scan.

When I got the news that I needed to schedule the bone scan I was on my way out and didn't ask any questions. I figured I'd have time to ask later. Unfortunately, their office is closed until Monday, January 5th. Naturally, I turned to Google for help.

I've come to find out that bone scans are used to test for bone infections (osteomyelitis), bone tumors, hairline fractures, and bone cancer. The results don't tell them which of these are present, just that there is one (or more) of them.

If they are testing for osteomyelitis, then the bone scan is done immediately after the injection of the radionucleide. Otherwise the patient (that's me!) returns after 3 hours for the scan. Well, my appointment for the injection is tomorrow at 10:30 am and I return for the scan osteochondroma), at 2 pm. I can only conclude that they're not testing me for osteochondroma. That leaves bone tumor and bone cancer. Bone fracture is not a candidate since I've had no trauma and there's obviously something growing on my ribs.

Nervous? Scared? Worried? You betcha... I'm only 28 years old and too young to have any of the problems I've already had let alone anything else.

Those who know me well, know just how much I love sushi. I've said many times, "I wish there were such a thing as sushi delivery". I especially felt this way the past couple of weeks having been unable to drive.

Unfortunately right now the budget is ultra-tight and except for the gift certificate for a local sushi place I got for Christmas, I'll not be buying sushi once a week again for a couple months. :-( However once I can afford it again, I do intend to try out SimplySushi.com.

They sell from their site and Amazon.com's Gourmet Food section. Naturally, I've added a bunch of sushi and sushi related items to my Amazon.com wishlist, just in case... ;-)

Great news; the exostosis was benign! :-)

Nobody can explain XFN better than its creators, Tantek Çelik, Matthew Mullenweg, and Eric Meyer. At the request of Eric, I'll be making an extension based on the XFN Creator for Dreamweaver. I'm honored to be involved.

Yes, I know as of this post I haven't XFN'd my links yet. I'll do them once I've finished writing the extension.;-)

Thanks to everyone who has sent their well wishes. I appreciate it, and it has helped me keep my spirits up. Ordinarily I would be an emotional wreck, but this time has been different because of friends and family who care. Huge thanks to Andrea (my sister-in-law) & John (my brother) for picking me up and letting me stay with them. Special thanks to Dan too for making me laugh just prior to surgery which helped prevent me from getting all emotional and for keeping everyone updated on how I am doing.

Now for all the gruesome details...

When I met Doctor Galligan, the anesthesiologist, I expected to get emotional like I did back in September when I met the anesthesiologist. Dr. Galligan was very friendly and I felt I could trust him. That's not something I do easily, but I got the feeling he really knew his stuff just from his handshake and how he carried himself.

Anesthesia poses many risks, and one that worried me most is that it can cause low blood pressure which can lead to death. My blood pressure runs low to start with, so I was nervous about this. General causes it to go lower than a spinal, which is one more reason to do a spinal. However spinal has other risks that are just as worrisome.

It wasn't until just before I went in the operating room doors that I finally decided what to do. I asked Dr. Galligan if I did a spinal if I had to be sedated, and how long would I be kept in the hospital. He told me I didn't have to be sedated if I didn't want to and that he could focus the anesthesia on my right leg so that it would wear off faster. He expected it to take about 3 to 4 hours to wear off completely. We talked about risks a bit, and he didn't try to sway me towards general or spinal at all.

Since I didn't have to be sedated, and I brought my camera I asked if I would be able to take pictures myself or if he would mind taking any. He was excited about it and thought it was a great idea. He said he could see that this sort of thing doesn't bother me, and felt I would do just fine without any sedation. I asked if I could change my mind at any time and he said I could so I felt comfortable doing a spinal.

Dr. Galligan had me lay on my right side with my knees drawn up and my back curled like a hissing cat. After a couple minutes he had me roll onto my back. It felt like my right leg was propped up on something and I had to pull me head up to look. Nope, my leg was flat on the table! It was so bizarre that I couldn't feel my leg at all, even when they lifted it up off the table to wash it and put the tunicate on. I could see my leg, but I felt like it was still flat on the operating table.

During the surgery the soundtrack from Forest Gump and U2's Joshua Tree were playing. It was cold, but they put a hose that puts out warm air under the blanket with me to keep me comfortable. My arms were free to move so I could lift them above the surgical drape to take pictures. Dr. Galligan took a few pictures for me too.

Dr. Parker, the surgeon, was very relaxed and didn't mind the picture taking at all. He did his thing with confidence. I was a little worried that the saw would freak me out, but Dr. Parker opted not to use one. The incision would have been bigger if he used a saw. Instead, he used a chisel to chip the growth off.

I couldn't feel anything he was doing or any pain whatsoever but I could feel my hip get jarred a bit as he pounded at my bone. It felt like I was an observer of someone else's surgery.

Once the growth was removed, they showed it to me and I took a picture of it. Dr. Parker says that it looks benign to him, but because there is so much bone and cartilage they'll have to decalcify it before they can determine it is benign at pathology. I should have the results by Wednesday the 17th.

He put some local anesthesia in the wound, and then proceeded to sew me up. Surgery was about 40 minutes or so but it seemed like only 5. It went by very fast. The doctors did a great job of making me feel comfortable and seemed impressed that I didn't get grossed out at all. We were even joking around a bit. :-)

After the surgery, I went to post-op recovery for an hour. A nurse stayed at my bedside the entire time, watching my vitals. My blood pressure did get low, 85/44 at the lowest as I recall. I got a little worried at that point, and started dozing off and had to force myself to stay awake. Dr. Galligan did a really good job, because I was able to move my left foot to help get circulation going and help improve my blood pressure.

I could see that I could move my right foot, but I couldn't feel it at all. I thought I was barely moving it, but it was going in larger circles. It really was a strange experience. Since I pushed myself to try and move my feet, my blood pressure came up to a decent level so they moved me to the recovery room.

They expected me to get all feeling back after about 2 or 3 more hours at this point. Moving my feet as much as I did caused the anesthesia to wear off much quicker. I regained all feeling after only 2 1/2 hours from the time of the injection, which was 2 hours sooner than expected.

I was able to stand without putting weight on my right leg and hobble to the bathroom. A bit later, they let me get dressed and Silvia from physical therapy came with crutches and gave me a lesson in using them.

I was in great spirits the whole time, and the nursing staff was all nice and complimentary about my cheery mood and independence. That of course helped keep my spirits up, which made their day pleasant to have a patient that wasn't a grouch. It was a nice little vicious cycle of keeping each other laughing. Too look at me, you wouldn't have guessed I just had surgery. No, I didn't have any narcotics either!

I went in for surgery at 11:30am and got to go home at 2:45pm. Not too shabby, I say. :-)

I didn't have much pain last night, but today I woke up in pain. I'm being careful to take my medicine on time rather than wait for the pain at least for the first couple of days. The medicine makes me a bit dizzy, and it doesn't kill the pain 100% but it at least brings it to a tolerable level. I'm a toughie, and hanging in there.

I've uploaded the pictures from the surgery. Before you look, be warned that they are graphic and if you have a weak stomach you may not want to look.

In less than 11 hours I'll be having an exostosis, a bone growing out from a bone, removed. The official diagnosis is Osteochondroma Right Tibia, which means a bone tumor that is usually benign, growing from the right tibia. In my x-ray, it looks like a sprig of brocolli.

Right now my biggest worry is the anesthesia and whether to do general or spinal. Both have different risk factors, and from what I've read their death stats are equal. I would have thought spinals would have less occurances of death but apparantly not.

Back in September when I had my gall bladder removed, I had no choice. The hours leading up to the general anesthesia were very emotional for me. I was so ill and jaundice that I didn't expect to live.

Now I have the option for spinal and general and I can't decide. Even though I fear having a general anesthetic, I am leaning towards that option. If death rates are indeed equal, I'm not so sure I want to risk my spine.

I'll try to blog more tomorrow, but no promises...

It is always nice when I can help Dan with work, considering he's always helping me with things. About the only two things I ever help him with are JavaScript and Regular Expressions, because he claims he's allergic to them. :-) This time, I helped him take a user's selection in a popup window and select the right item in a select list in the parent window.

If you look at Lary McKee's site, you'll see a hyperlink under the in the Options section that says: Preview Mats. When you click it, you'll be able to choose an outer and inner mat, then click on the Choose Mats button to close the window and set the select lists in the Options section. Dan did all the fancy JavaScript that changes the Mats using CSS, and I did the part that happens when you click the Choose Mats button. We make a great team, I say! :-)

Lary's work is gorgeous, and highly detailed. Would make a nice Christmas gift if you're lacking ideas. ;-)

I'm so excited, I must blog. :-) Eric and Kat Meyer are the proud parents of Carolyn Maxwell Meyer. I couldn't be happier for them and I know they're going to make awesome parents. Wow...talk about wonderful news! :-)

A few people have asked if Gaetano and I have a wishlist, and indeed we do. If you're curious what we like, or inclined to buy Angela or Gaetano stuff check out our Amazon.com wishlist.

No matter how crappy life gets and how rough a day I've had, my son brings joy to me. He isn't the greatest singer, but he sure tries.

I just got a call that Ambrogio's brother's mother-in-law (Barbara) is on her death bed now and only expected to live a few hours. This is sad, so very sad... deaths suck. :-(

That's what the subject line of an email read this morning from my father, DEATH. Inside it just asked me to call him as soon as I got the message. Luckily I wasn't home to get the email and happened to call my mom. I was shopping for Thanksgiving things and got the news that my uncle Phillip (who had a brain tumor) passed away last night.

I never got to know my uncle, because of stupid family quarrels. I have some memories of him as a child that keep flashing through my mind and some of family funerals where I'd seen him over the years. The last time I saw him about a couple years ago, I was finally able to speak to him for a little while. Unfortunately I was chasing after Gaetano at the time so much that I didn't get to speak with him for very long.

I don't care what problems the rest of the family had with him. I don't care what his arguments were with my father. I just know he was my uncle, and that he gave the best bear hugs when I was a little girl. I've missed having an uncle for many years, and I regret not keeping in contact with him by email since I saw him last. My mourning now is for selfish reasons; not having known what it was like to have an uncle all my life, and knowing I'll never have that knowledge. At least I do have some fond memories, and I'll hold on to those no matter what...

Happy 28th birthday Dan! :-) Be sure to call your parents and thank them ;-)

I've decided to add a category for "Deep Thoughts" in addition to the category for Quotes. If you're familiar with "Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey" from Saturday Night Live, the things said in this section will (hopefully) have a similar appeal. :-)

Wow, time is really flying by lately. I'm pretty much recoverred from surgery now. In about a week or so I can start excercising again. Better news than that, I'll be able to eat low-fat instead of darn-near-close-to-non-fat. For those curious, low-fat means 15g of fat or less per day. That's hardly anything! I did zero fat the first 4 weeks, and admittedly have about 4g of fat a day since then though I am supposed to have done non-fat for 6 weeks. I just couldn't take it anymore. At least I lost some of the weight I gained back over the summer, but not all of it and I definitely need to excercise to get back in shape again.

Why haven't I posted lately? Busy! Sooooo busy. I've a huge extension project I'm working on that's in beta and will hopefully be complete soon. Dreamweaver MX 2004 Killer Tips has shipped to the printer and we're wrapping things up on Dreamweaver MX 2004 Magic now. So yeah, I've been rather busy, I'd say. More from me about some of the other cool things I'm working on as soon as I'm allowed to say more ;-) Oh yeah, I got my Dreamwever MX certification finally too. Yep, I think that's all there is to tell now...back to work!

Ok, you may think I'm a little nuts to post this, but I'm going to anyhow. It's my blog after all and nobody is forcing anyone to read my ramblings. I use my blog to record events (sometimes you don't even realize I'm doing it) that matter to me. Anyhow, tonight's big event was tucking Gaetano in bed for the first time. Today the front rail was taken off his crib, making it a day bed.

Ambrogio tucked him in, and an hour later he fell out of bed. He cried for about 10 minutes, watched some TV, and then asked me to take him back to bed. This time I got to tuck him in and it was so, so sweet. An hour later, he fell out of bed again! Awwwww :-( I put down some cushion and a stuffed animal is behind his back so if he goes to roll he'll be okay. Tucking him in his first bed was one of those sweet mama moments. Comforting him is something I wish I never had to do, but I'm so glad I'm able.

Being sick is definitely affecting my typing. I'm making so many typos lately. I'm even making dumb grammatical errors. We all know my typing is horrible, but I usually proofread well enough to catch my goofs. My apologies to those who've had to endure my bad typing today. Hopefully I'll feel better soon!

Buraglia's are just popping up out of the woodworks lately! I think it's something to do with how easily I'm found on Google. (I've gotten some email in addition to the comments I approved.) It really is a small world...

I'm interested in hearing from my family too though, so I better start mentioning Bertone here occasionally if I ever want to be found. ;-) I have a lot of family I've never met or have not seen in many years. Italian families can be so stubborn, and just stop talking for years for no real good reason. Here's hoping that it doesn't last forever.

It's been awhile since I've posted anything here and the last few messages have been pretty brief. I figured since I was approving a comment to my previous post I'd make a new one while I'm here.

I'm recovering fairly well from the surgery. I caught a cold/flu on Sunday and despite medication, I have gotten progressively worse. I've been having some pain in my lower right abdomen and if it persists I'll go back to the ER again. Let's hope not!

I've been busy as can be, but I'll try and start posting more often. My apologies for my absense, but I think I have a pretty good excuse. :-)

I've been home since Tuesday night, I just forgot to blog. I'm feeling real sore still but getting better each day. I've lots of work to do, but not enough energy to get caught up yet. I'm trying though...

I don't have a gall bladder anymore. At least I have a decent dialup here in the hospital...

He did it!!! :-) (Sorry to those of you who come here to read about Dreawmweaver stuff...) It's been one whole year since Gaetano has gone potty on the toilet. He only went "number 1" once before and "number 2" a couple days later. This time, he went "number 1" twice within an hour! I'm so proud!

Every Friday I pick Gaetano up from school and we usually go shopping for necessities. When he's a good boy, I usually get him a small toy. This time it was the Play-Doh George Foreman Grill. We played with it this morning for a whole hour and had so much fun. It even makes sizzling noises!

We would make chicken, fish, steak, or hamburger, then flip the plates over so that they're ready to make grill marks. It's really a cool little toy. You can even use it to make french fries, bacon, and hot dogs. It was so much fun that I may have enjoyed it more than him!

The most exciting part for me though, was when Gaetano started counting the grill marks. It was the very first time he has counted to 10 all by himself with no prompting or help. Of course I promptly smothered him with tons of kisses and encouragment. :-)

Not sure who discoverred this originally... Try it: While sitting take your right foot and make clockwise circles and then trace the number 6 in the air with your right hand. Your foot will start going in the opposite direction. My solution? Draw the 6 in reverse. :-)

Gaetano and I made some more Play-Doh art together a couple of days ago. Together we made a miniature orange, a carrot and a snow pea. I also made a yellow rose. You can find pictures of our fun with Play-Doh in the Artwork photo album. Enjoy!

I've always been confused about when to use "it's" and when to use "its". Finally, I've figured out that it's backwards. Usually an apostrophe then the letter s ('s) means possesion. No, not in the case of the word it. It's means it is or it has. When there is possesion involved like "on its side", there is no apostrophe. I figured I'd post this because I'm probably not the only one who's confused this. Oh no... now I am going to have to think about who's vs. whose. I'm pretty sure I use that correctly, and the same lack of apostrophe applies for possesiveness. I'm trying to improve my grammar, but thank goodness for copy editors. :-)

For the last few days this site, and all of my others have been offline due to a DoS (Denial of Service) attack. If you've sent me email in the last 4 days I may not have gotten it, so please feel free to send it again and I'll get back to you as quick as I can.

"Never judge a page until you've scrolled to the bottom." ~Dan Short

I just created a new ice cream emoticon. Yep I drew that pixel by pixel using Fireworks MX. Hope you find it handy...

At about 3am I woke up to some really loud and unfamilar noises. Ambrogio got up to see what it was (my foot was "asleep"). It sounded like someone was maybe breaking into the cars or something. Turns out there was a big brown dog out there behind my car. It whimpered a little but we didn't think anything of it since it got quiet. We figured it was just a stray. I heard more whimpering at about 6:30am so I got up this time and went to the window. The dog was apparently stuck; he'd wrapped his long leash around one of the poles that hold up the carport. Animal Control doesn't open until 7:30am and by now it was 7 when I decided to go outside and take a picture of it. (Camera battery died before I could snap the picture.) Gaetano watched from the window amused and laughing. Just then, a neighbor came out and indicated that the dog may belong to someone across the street. I went over there to ask, and sure enough it was "Bailey", their dog. Bailey jumped up and down and wagged his tail when he saw his master. It took him about 5 minutes to untangle the dog's 25 foot leash. The clasp was stuck under the tire of my car which is what got the dog stuck originally, but then he paniced and got himself wrapped around the pole numerous times in a tangled mess. Once "Bailey" was free he came to me as if to say thanks, and I introduced myself. All is well now, and Bailey has gone back home where he belongs.

I've just added a new "Stuff" section to the navigation. I needed somewhere to put my MSN Messenger 6 emoticons for sharing. I'm not sure what else will end up in this section yet...might be interesting, might be boring. Who knows? Who cares? :-)

No matter how bad a day is, it always brightens when you hear your efforts have influenced someone else in some way, no matter how small. I got a little bit of that today when Tom showed me a comment on his blog that was in reference to DWmommy (or at least "net mommies" in general). Thanks jjshea. :-)

Some words just don't mean anything like what they appear they might. Fugacious, Meriam Webster's Word of the Day for July 5th, is a perfect example of such a word. Before you click the link to see what it means, Add a Comment and tell me your guess. :-)

On this day in 1969 my mother came from Greece to America. On this day in 1996, John (my brother) married his wife Andrea. On this day in 1997, John (my cousin in Greece) married his wife. On this day in 1997, I married my husband Ambrogio.

Thursday morning Gaetano woke up with a mild fever (99.2). It didn't take him long to get his first cold from school! So we kept him home, took him to the doctor's and got him on anti-biotics.

Friday he stayed home too, and was clingy since he didn't feel well, but to look at him you wouldn't know he was sick except the occasional sniffle. We were both hungry so we went out for Japanese together. He just loves Miso soup. By late Friday night I could feel a sore throat coming, but it felt more like an alergic reaction to something I ate, or so I hoped.

Saturday I woke with one of the worst sore throats ever. If there is one knd of pain I have a low tolerance for it is sore throat pain. In the video of my labor with Gaetano, I tell the nurse I don't need any meds for the contractions, but ask if it is okay to take my throat medicine! It didn't take long for post nasal drip to start and my head to get all stuffy. Now I know how Gaetano was feeling, poor guy. :-( I've been so miserable, I can't get anything done, not work, not household chores, nothin'.

Today I woke up totally stuffed and am about 1/2 way through a Kleenex box since about 8pm last night. Of course I have several deadlines looming, and this isn't helping me to concentrate on those any either... I want my mommy...

I've been thinking about getting a webcam, but have no idea what to choose. I'd prefer to have one that has a filter/mask for when I'm having a bad hair day. Other than that, it should work and not break when (not if) it falls. Durable is good. I don't want to have to fuss with anything, I just want to point it at me or my son and everything should focus and work smoothly. Am I asking too much? :-)

Why am I blogging about this? Now that my blog has comments available, you can tell me what to look for when purchasing a web cam (or share a funny webcam story, or whatever...). I'm in no big hurry to get one, but I'd like to add it to the wishlist at least. Thanks. :-)

Wednesday night at O Sushi Cafe is "All You Can Eat Sushi Night". I had 4 pieces of tuna, 4 pieces of yellow tail, 2 pieces of seared albacore, an 8 piece spicy tuna roll, an order of fried calamari(but I could only eat 1/2), and mochi balls for dessert. I'm stuffed...

With as much as I talk about sushi, I'm contemplating adding a Sushi category. Hmm...

If you haven't noticed yet, I've added a Quotes category to the blog. This is where I'll post things that I've thought that seem quotable, or things friends say to me. (All posts appear unless you use the Blog Categories filters.) Most likely I won't give context to the quote, so it's probably not worth asking me. :-) Don't worry, I won't quote you without permission...

I'm alright, just a little unwell. I've had a really painful headache today and yesterday one of my infamous stomach aches. Life's pressures are certainly getting to me, but I know I'll be alright.

A few of my online friends have noticed my abscense from MSN Messenger recently. One friend, Alex, even emailed me to make sure I was alright. (That was sweet, thanks Alex.) I told him that if he didn't see me blog in two days, or post on a newsgroup we both frequent, then he can worry. For those who only watch my blog, no more than a week should pass between posts. So don't worry!

I've added a new Artwork gallery to the site. Not much there yet, but it should grow over time.

When in Vegas, one should do a lot of gambolling. On my recent visit, I didn't do any gambling, and I don't regret it either.

Alright, let's hear it; how do you like my stripes? Would you like me to have a style changer? Do you want to submit your own theme? Tell me what you think by adding a comment. I'm listening...

Thanks to Bill Horvath for 5 pictures and a bunch of new captions for the TODCON MX Vegas gallery. If you've already seen the gallery it is worth checking out again just to read his little quips. We're still waiting on pics from Jim, Steve, and Adam. I'll keep you posted!

This year I had a bit of an extended birthday, with gifts coming over the course of about 12 days. It started with Never Ending Story on DVD, and the Garbage CD from Dan on the 26th of May. I went to Disney California adventure with the boys and our friend Rene, who signed us in for free. I had birthday dinner at the Cheesecake Factory on Wednesday night. Then Thursday, The Rum Experience (a book) arrived also from Dan. Friday, I got my birthday present to myself, wireless access, all set up with Dan's help. I spent my birthday home with Gaetano and got cards and lottery tickets from the boys. ($13 in winners.)

Then came TODCON where I got a very cool t-shirt from Jay that you can see in the TODCON MX Vegas gallery. Jay also ordered a leopard print bag for my laptop which arrived yesterday. While at TODCON, I also received a set of Hawaiian novelty ice cubes from Danilo. (They're flowers and palm trees filled with water that you freeze and use as ice cubes.) Massimo gave me a box of chocolates that look like giant lady bugs. He says they're good luck. :-) At the end of TODCON, bottles of wine were given away to people nominated by the audience for one reason or another. I was stunned to hear my name that I don't recall why I was nominated! As you'll see in the gallery, I'm holding a bottle of Syrah, which I'm saving for a special occasion.

I really feel blessed and spoiled by all the above, and by all the warm wishes from friends for a Happy Birthday too. Thanks so much to all of you for making this (extended) birthday special.

I'm lovin' being on wireless. Loverboy just started on cable. I never used to be able to watch TV and work at the same time. It almost reminds me of when I was in high school, and I'd do my homework while watching TV. Anyway, if you've never seen this movie, you should. Mmmmm, pizza...

Well, I got most of the images uploaded today. I still need to add captions to many of them though. Please feel free to recomend captions to me. If I like 'em, I'll add 'em. I have rougly 35 more images to crop/resize/retouch/upload tomorrow from my camera. Then on Monday or Tuesday I should have more from other people to upload too. Sure is time consuming, but better to do it now then to slack and never get around to it... I'm way sleepy, goodnight.

Happy birthday to Tom Muck! It's actually on the 7th, but it is already his birthday in his time zone...

Well, I've uploaded pictures from my second day in Vegas for TODCON. Unfortunately I'm having trouble writing to the XML file on the server so captions are still forthcoming. Please bear with the icky file names for now, and check the blog for news of when the captions are done. You'll want to go back and read them ;-)

Thanks to Eric Meyer, <a href="http://www.websiteic.com/blog/"k>Jay Grantham, and Jim Babbage for their shots and permission to host them here. I'm still waiting for shots from Adam Carr and Steve Fleischer, but don't expect them for a few more days. Looks like TODCON MX Vegas is going to be the largest gallery I have on this site so far.

In case you're looking for the TODCON MX Vegas image gallery, it is temporarily offline while I rename images. It should be back up in about an hour. Sorry for the inconvenience. The good news is I'll have more pictures up from Day 2 at that time. Still, I have many more photos to crop, upload, that will need captions too. Thanks for your patience...

Ray left the network up just so I could get Day One's pictures up. Some of them need to be re-cropped because of bad batch processing, and the captions could use some help. Feel free to make suggestions. :-) There will be tons of shots from Day 2 soon as I can get those uploaded. Eric Meyer, Jim Babbage, Adam, and Steve Fleischer all have images they've either contributed or will send to me. We all had too much fun to take many shots today but there are some. So much to say, and no time to write it all since the network is going down any...

They're about to shut down the network! Nooooooooooo. I guess I'll be posting more tomorrow when I get home. Damn... Hopefully I can get a connection around somewhere.

My Find and Replace session was attended by only 5 people! I expected this though, since I was up against Eric Meyer. Really, I was hoping nobody would show, so I could attend his session. No such luck though. Eric's session was standing room only; packed.

My session went pretty well though, especially since the group watching were experienced enough to follow along without excruciating explaination. In prep for this session, and during the session, I've found several Find and Replace bugs that I must report to Macromedia. In fact, one regular expression I used, should not have worked, blatantly wrong, and it worked! I have to tinker some more to figure out why exactly I was so lucky it worked. Massimo, Tom and I were all amazed. Definitely a bug. :-)

I'd love to give this session again some time. Everyone said that they learned something totally new that would save them hours of time. So I was quite pleased. Afterwards, during the lunch break, I redid several portions of the session for those who missed it. Lots of fun. Reg Exes are cool. ;-)

Even though TODCON is officially over, we're still going strong and having a blast. There's so much to say, and so many photos to crop, upload and captionize (is that a word?). So please be patient, and I'll do my best.

We're here at "Summer Camp For Geeks" and about to have Eric A Meyer present the keynote.

Last night the speakers and Community MX authors joined for a special dinner of Filet Minon and Chicken with creme (not-so) brule (but still yummy) for dessert. Open bar...yummmmm.

Unlike past conferences, I've taken pictures from Day 1. I even have them all uploaded already but I need to do captions so I'm not revealing them to you just yet. All in good time... :-)

Ray says we have to eat the food :-) There's lots of it even...

Eric Meyer's introduction (Ray West): We've tried to get Eric Meyer here for a year and half. I've had his passport revoked and taken two of his children so he can be here.

I've been writing down some great quotes as they happen and will either post them or use them as captions in the photo albums.

I'm about to leave for TODCON MX Vegas. Everything is packed, just have to run to the store real quick then it is off to John Wayne airport. I should be getting to the hotel about 4pm. I've heard that there will be wireless access there, so if it works for me, I'll try to blog "live" from TODCON.

Earlier today I added a new Favicon. I created one for Dan's Shorts too, but he's yet to add the necessary code to make his show up without the user jumping through hoops, so you may not see his yet. I like to call 'em fav-eye-cons because they're close-ups of our pixel people's eyes. :-) I'm just cheesy like that y'know.

I used Icon Forge to create them by importing GIF images. I have 4 uses left of the trial, and I'm pretty sure I'll buy it since it was just so easy to use.

I've finally given in, and am about to start using Outlook as my mail reader. It gave me all sorts of trouble tonight and I wasted a few hours with it. I was getting duplicate messages and they were all marked an hour earlier than they should have been. It turns out that the automatically adjust for Daylight Savings Time box wasn't checked and that caused most of the problem. An email with a huge file attachment was making the download time out as well adding to the problem. It looks like that's all settled now. Tomorrow I'll add my other email accounts to Outlook and see if trouble persists. Hopefully not! I still need to get ready for TODCON... Gonna be a long weekend! <sigh />

I've gone wireless and launched the new blog today. You can now comment on my posts even. You may notice that I've all the features of Dan's blog-o-matic too. Thanks Dan!

Happy birthday to Marion Kaltenschnee and Pete Hawkes from the Dreamweaver newsgroup! Turning out to be a better birthday than I expected. :-)

I finally bought a new cordless phone, 2.4ghz. Seems crazy that my phone is 2.4ghz when my computer is only 1.7ghz... :-\ (Yes I realize that it is frequency vs. processor, but it just sounds weird.)

So I'm walking through Target, I'm pushing the shopping cart and when I let go to pick something off the shelf, my cart bumps into another cart. I told the guy I was sorry and he says to me "That's okay, I'll just hit yours back." and he bumped my cart gently and we both burst out laughing hysterically. His wife was stunned, glared at him and said "You're lucky she has a good sense of humor." I replied "No, you're lucky that he has a good sense of humor." She thought for a moment and answerred "You know, you're right?" Pretty funny, but I guess you had to be there.

Later we went to dinner for sushi. Gaetano all of a sudden tells me with pure excitement "Mama look at the princess." I asked him, "What princess? I don't see a princess." "Over there he answers," pointing to a goergeous blonde who very well could be Cinderella. It was adorable. I asked him to tell the princess hello but he didn't want to. "I don't want to say hi. I don't have money." I'm a little concerned about the second sentence, but it was so darn cute I had to tell the "princess".

Ten days and counting until my birthday (May 30th). 28 years on this planet already. I've lots of wishes that go way beyond material things for this year. With a lot of luck and patience, hopefully those will come true. I'll make my wishes official when I blow out the candles though. Hopefully I can do it all in one breath! :-)

<tune melody="I left my heart in San Francisco">I left my phone charger in San Francisco...</tune> Hotel is sending it UPS next day service. I probably could have bought a new AC adapter for what its gonna cost me. Oh well... :-)

Recently I switched to what appeared to be a great deal. $48.95 for any time, anywhere in the United States. No more separate long distance bill. This includes local long distance too, they really did mean anywhere; I checked on that.

Well I just got the info packet in the mail. Normally I don't bother to read it. Turns out though that "This phone number cannot be used to access the internet". Well, I'm on DSL and that uses this phone number! :-\ Does it mean just no dialup? Grrrr calling customer service in the morning.

First my laptop dies and I have horrible phone support, now this! Today's not my day...

I had a nice Mother's Day yesterday. Took a few pictures but none turned out all that well... I will try to upload them this weekend some time. I've a busy week ahead of me.

Ever have days where you just can't think straight? I've been having lots of those lately. They say fish is brainfood. I'm having sushi for lunch; I need all the help I can get!

I've been hard(ly) at work on my cousin's site the past few days and I'd say it's about 90% done now. I will hopefully finiish it up tomorrow. I say "hardly" because I've used Dan's blog-o-matic for the site as well as his image gallery code. Its somewhat of a case study in two parts. I'm able to give feedback from a developer standpoint about implementing the code, and my cousin will be able to give feedback from the client perspective.

Speaking of blog-o-matic, I'll be updating DWmommy.com soon, to use blog-o-matic. I'm really looking forward to being able to take comments from readers. Should be a lot of fun. The new design is done, but before I can play with my site, I need to finish my cousin's and start on some other work. Look for a new DWmommy in a week or so, hopefully sooner!

I give up... I'm off to the zoo. Maybe a break is what I need to be able to do the simple things without a headache. :-)

Hanging with my cousin is always fun... Last night he came over to work on his website. I'd ordered dinner, sushi and sashimi. I was very brave, and had eel and the salmon eggs! Eel wasn't slimey like I'd expected. The eggs were just kind of salty then sweet when they burst; they don't do much for me, but if they're sprinkled on my sushi I'll eat 'em.

Matt (known as "Nasby") has a cell phone that rings enough to drive any person crazy. Thankfully he has the discipline to ignore calls with the help of caller ID and a handy reject call button. He'd stepped out once when it rang and I noticed a name, Jones. I said, "Hey Matt, there's a Jones on your cell. Must be Norah." Matt replies, "Yeah, she wants to come away with me." :-) Matt's always got a good quick comeback; he's very funny.

While helping my mom prepare yesterday's dinner, she asked me what Gaetano's uncle Mario and Aunt Melissa got him for his birthday. I answered "They gave him $25 and some Playboy." My mom had this look of shock on her face and then I realized what I'd said. "Not Playboy! I meant Play-Doh. They'd better not get him that for at least another 15 years!" If you want to see some pictures from his birthday check the gallery under Easter & Birthday 2003.

Sleep in random short increments isn't restful...

I got gypped; we had roasted lamb, but it was pre-cooked! Apparantly mom and dad decided to make a ton of other food and opted for a ready-to-eat leg of lamb. Oh well, maybe next year.

Instead I got a big fat greek belly ache -- I swear, labor was less painful -- so its going to be a rough night. Tomorrow, when I'm feeling better I'll post some pictures and whatnot.

Today very well may turn out to be My Big Fat Greek Easter. We're heading to my parent's house later to celebrate Easter/Mom's Birthday/Gaetano's Birthday in typical greek style. That's right, we'll be roasting a lamb in the backyard.

People still toilet paper houses? :-\

What a weekend this is going to be... Easter is on Sunday, but it is also my mom's birthday and my son's 3rd birthday! I'll try to take pictures if the digital camera is more cooperative than it was in Toronto last month...

I really hate it when my eyes leak...

On this very day 14 years ago at right about this time, I was in the 400 building. It was my freshman year in High School, the day of my first kiss... What a sap I am to remember that huh?

Sad day...Dr. Atkins died today as a result of an accident, not health. You can read about it at his site http://atkinscenter.com/. Thanks Dr. Atkins for helping so many lose the weight, myself included.

What an evening... Sushi, then Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake ice cream from the container, then a glass of fine champagne while watching a chick flick with a good friend. To finish of the night, I'll be listening to some tunes, and working on a Server Behavior that I'll hopefully send to beta tomorrow.

By the way, I had a couple confessions (see yesterday's post), but none of them turned out to be the culprit. I guess they were just guilty, and not paying attention to the timestamp...busted!

My ears are ringing. I wonder who's talking about me. C'mon, confess...

Wow, what a night. Matt (my cousin "Nasby", a radio DJ in Palm Springs) and I were up almost all night working on the new layout and it is looking pretty darn good if I do say so myself... I think I got to bed at about 3:30am and was up by about 8:30. Been working on the site all day. Can't wait to get it finished and online!

Kickin' it here with my cousin "Nasby", we're gonna build him a website! :-)

Kicking back with a friend of mine, she asked me to look for a movie she saw in her childhood. Well we found the book for her but not the movie. Doing this for her reminded me of a movie I saw as a kid, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. I've looked for this film for the past 9 years, and its been "out of print" according to every shop I looked. Amazon has it, on DVD even! So of course I ordered it :-) Can't wait to see if it is as cheesey as I recall...

For a little over a year now, I've noticed that my left and right eyes each see color differently. At my optometry appointment last February, it was recommended that I see a specialist, and that what I experience is a common early symptom of Multiple Sclerosis. It wasn't until recently that I finally went to get checked. Last Thursday I saw the opthalmologist and he was stumped. He ordered some tests which I completed the day before yesterday. The results looked normal, but he had me see the retinal/optical nerve specialist. All tests he did were normal as well; no logical explanation for the difference in color vision. He doesn't think it is Multiple Sclerosis since I lack other symptoms and passed the visual field test. At this point, the only thing left to do would be an MRI, but he didn't feel it was necessary or that it would reveal any problems, and left the decision to me. I've opted not to take the test, and will happily live not knowing the cause of my problem. I'm supposed to go back in about 6 months for another visual field test, or if other symptoms appear. Needless to say, I'm quite relieved at the outcome and hope I never need to question the origin of my color vision issue again.

Mmmm sushi, the breakfast of geeks... :-)

In case the self-portrait just wasn't enough for you, there's two new shots in the Miscellaneous Photo Album April 6th and Cheek 2 Cheek are the two new shots. Yes, I have had a drink ;-).

Its much more red in the light, and I'm sure it will get a little lighter over the next couple of days. Little by little I'll lighten it more and by summer it should be the way I want it. :-)

A few friends have asked me to take the picture of my new hair color myself instead of waiting for someone else to take it for me. Self portraits always look funky... I'll show you anyway in the Miscellaneous galler. It looks much more red in person and the red highlights look much lighter as well. It all depends on the lighting.

Wow, this is pretty dramatic for me. I've some red and some blondish hilights. If my friend comes over later, I'll have her take a picture. If not, I'll have to wait until tomorrow, because Ambrogio gets home from work really late tonight.

I got up the courage to dye my hair even lighter/redder than before. I went with "apricot" which is is pretty much the color of an apricot's skin. Because my hair is so dark naturally, it won't get nearly as light as I'd like. The L'Oreal Couleur Experte line comes with a second step for highliting, which is what's in my hair now as I type. Its about time to rinse, and I'm excited to see how the hilights turn out. I'll post again afterwards, and maybe post a picture if I can get someone to snap one for me.

Washington Mutual gives good service. The fraudulent purchases have already been creditted back to my account. Now if we can catch the jerk who did this in the first place, I'd be thrilled.

I feel so violated... According to my bank, I subscribed to 3 porn sites for just over $100 on 3/25/03. No, my husband didn't subscribe. A) He can't lie to me, I always know and I asked. B) He'd have to be able to use the computer. When am I not on the computer that he could have been? Never... He's just not computer savvy in the slightest. C) The transaction took place on 3/25, a Tuesday and he was home in the morning and I was on the PC. Later he went to work. There aren't any computers there. He's innocent! :-)

Whoever did this is slime, and I hope the bastard is caught, put in a straight jacket, fed high doses of Viagra and then forced to look at the porn!

Sunburn sucks...

Over 24 hours later, my craving is getting satisfied... :-)

The extension I was working on is now in beta. Danilo's trying hard to add features but I'm not budging until I get more votes. ;-)

I'm really <craving fault="Dan's">wasabi</craving> right now. Gotta get some California rolls (sans cucumber <blech />), or maybe some salmon...

38 Dreamweaver newsgroup users listed in my MSN Buddy list... no wonder I get so little done lately! So I've buckled down. I've moved that MSN over to my 2k machine so that I'll only chat when I'm checking email. Its been a couple days now, and I'm feeling a bit more productive already. I'm sure productivity will increase significantly once I get back into the groove. (Still recovering a little from MXNorth.) So if you were one of the 38, don't take it personal; you're not blocked. :-)

I've added a new link to the navigation, Galleries. Right now all the personal stuff is mixed in with Dreamweaver stuff. I may change that eventually... My pictures, and some Dan took are up in the MXNorth 2003 category if you're interested. My camera was acting up so I didn't get many this time unfortunately. However, Jim Babbage took some great pictures at the conference. He's got the only picture of me wearing my glasses on the web.

I hate politics... I just wish I could hop on a shuttle to another planet.

I'm back home from MXNorth now and just trying to catch up on things today. So many emails! I meant to post here while I was away but I didn't get online much. It was actually kind of nice being so disconnected. I'm too tired to get into much detail, but I'll give some of the highlights:

Thursday night Dan and I went for my first time eating (raw) sushi. The first two bites were alright but the third one had some wasabi on it... WOW! That's some good stuff! I tried salmon as well and it was okay too, but I didn't care for the octopus since it was rather chewy.

Friday just flew by me.Roughly 220 in attendance this time. I met Brad Halstead and Derren Whiteman for the first time, both sweethearts just like in their emails/chats. I did some book signing at the afternoon break for Dreamweaver MX Magic with Dan, Massimo, and Brad. Dinner was at a little place called Adega across the street from the hotel. We were there for I'd say about 3 hours, so we were late to movie night. When we got to the hotel, they were showing My Big Fat Greek Wedding. They even had a popcorn machine in there I was told... but since I've seen the movie 5 times and have the DVD I skipped it. Instead I hung out with Dan and worked on DWfaq.

Saturday I gave my Dreamweaver MX Killer Tips session with Joe Lowery. The session went well, but we didn't get to do everything we hoped for. Lucky for conference goers, the whole session is up until tomorrow for them to review and pick up extra tips we didn't get too. I prefer to overplan than to be left standing there with nothing left to say... All in all I was pleased with how the session went. Saturday night we went to a trendy little night club for a party for all attendees. The whole place was reserved for us thankfully, since it was very much a "How you doin'" kind of bar.

Sunday I slept in and missed the keynote. I was late to Joe's JavaScript session but the half I was there for, I picked up a bunch of great info. A bunch of people took off before I had the chance to say goodbye, which is always a bummer... Ray, Laurie, Manuella, Massimo, Dan and I went back to Fune for sushi. This time Dan got pictures! I'll share at least one here soon... Afterwards we went to a place called Just Desserts for drinks and desserts. I had a yummy chocolate cheescake with strawberries... After that, Dan, Massimo and I hung out for awhile. They were speaking advanced geek and I couldn't keep up so I fell asleep! Lucky for me Dan didn't have his camera with him then or I'd be busted. After my nice little nap Dan and I worked some more on DWfaq. A lot of stripping out tables from the code was done, but we have a long way to go still.

I'll be posting photos soon as I get Dan's from him. My camera was acting up so I didn't get many pictures at all. :-( Darn camera goes from a full battery to empty after only one shot! I think it needs a new battery (yes it is a proprietary one)... That's about all I have to say about the trip really. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone in Vegas in just a couple of months. It is going to be a really great time.

I'm not having a good day... My laptop has been doing weird things to me. Earlier I did a system search for .dwr files (those are saved queries). No results! @#$% was my reaction...I need them for my presentation at MXNorth. They were there yesterday but gone from my desktop. 9 hours later they turned up in a folder that's on the desktop after I already remade a bunch of regular expressions.

Then I fought the age old battle of changing a site from root relative to document relative paths. MAJOR PAIN... All this because Dreamweaver would need me to have IIS to preview locally. That's something I'm just not prepared to deal with less than 10 hours before leaving. You're thinking I should have built it document relative from the start. Well, the site that this is going on had a template already so I thought I'd use that and save time. It was a 30 minute headache, but a headache nonetheless.

I had some software installation problems too. A few other things went wrong but I'd rather not talk about it :-)

I'll be on my way soon, and I'll feel much better once I'm there I'm sure. Hope to meet a lot of new people and spend time with old friends. I'll try to post while I'm there, but no promises!

Blogs are known to be a place where one can rant about things, but up until now I'm not sure I have ranted about anything. Times a changin'!

I went shopping tonight at the mall. I needed a garment in another size so I asked the salesperson if they had more in the back in my size. She explained that they don't keep stock in back but that she could call another store for me. So far, so good.

If you've ever worked in retail, you'll know that when you call the tenendcy is to say that whatever it is they're asked for is out of stock. I've worked retail and seen my co-workers do it but I am proud to say I've NEVER done that to a customer. I told the gal she could call for me if she got the person's name who answers the phone so that if they say the item is out of stock and I go there, I can complain. I probably wouldn't have complained, but I figured it'd be a good way to get the worker to really check. I've been told no before, asked for a name, then told "wait hold on one sec... Oh yes we do have it". (You may want to try that trick next time you're told no.)

The salesperson asks me, "What if the person gives a fake name?" I basically told her that I'd have her to vouch for me that someone by that name answerred the phone and lied to me. She told me that in retail (generally speaking) lying to callers is a problem but assured me that she's not one to say yes or no if she doesn't know for certain. I thought she was cool, being polite and honest. I then asked her if it was the policy to not get a name and phone number to call back if they are too busy to check. That way I would know if it were worth going there if the answer was no. If it wasn't the policy to call back, then lying is more likely. (This story is going to take an unexpected twist soon... hang in there.) She said they prefer you don't do that and on occasion when she's gotten a phone number she's forgotten to call back and not realized until she got home. She said she felt bad when that happened and would call the next day. Wow, I'm liking her attitude... good worker!

I decided to try on the garment once more before calling, and figured that it fit alright so I'd just buy it and hope I don't gain weight! (Twist still coming...)

I continued shopping nearby the register. A lady walks up to the counter frantic; looking at her I thought something must be wrong. She was trembling and told the man at the counter that her car wouldn't start and asked nicely if she could use the phone. The man tells her that the phones don't dial out, so she couldn't.

What?! The girl earlier mentioned to me that she's able to call customers back. I was stunned. I offered the lady my cell phone and called AAA Roadside Assistance.

The girl I'd spoken to was nowhere in sight unfortunately. I told the lady with car trouble, Shelley, that I'd wait until they came since if they get lost they'd be calling my cell phone. She went to wait in the car and I shopped about 5 minutes more.

On my way out the man who denied her use of the phone tells me goodnight and says that it was nice of me to let her use the phone since they can't dial out. I told him, "Funny, I was talking with a salesperson earlier about how if she's too busy when someone calls for a stock check, she will take their number and call them back." Well he made a really interesting expression that was a mixture of fear and surprise, then he turned away and I walked out.

I saw another worker and asked if the phones can dial out. They don't, but there are phones that some of the floor workers (the ones who walk around and help people) carry cellphones that dial out. He also told me that the guy was the manager who denied her the use of the phone. What an aweful manager he is! He could have offered to help this obviously upset woman by directing her to a payphone at the very least. He didn't care whatsoever. I won't complain to the store; I'll leave it to Shelley, but I'm sure she won't either... but one of us should!

What bothers me is that this isn't the first time I've witnessed this happen and won't be the last. If you can help someone, help them. Go out of your way for them. Be kind to them. What if it were someone in your family that needed help? Would you want this to happen to them? Would you want it to happen to you? I believe in the old saying "What goes around, comes around."

If you're still reading this, thanks for listening :-) I'll try not to rant too often.

Just thought I should mention that I'm doing a bit of cleanup throughout the site and some links to files on the DWmommy domain - especially those to images - may not function for awhile. Would you believe there were about 1200 files on DWmommy? And here you thought all there is only a home page, archive page and a few random files :-). Okay so most of it was book stuff under a subdomain, but still...

So much to do, so little time! I'm getting things ready for my trip to MXNorth over the next couple of days. I'm anxious to break free and relax with friends while being a geek around people who'll understand! This is certainly going to be a new experience for me. A) I'm not used to snow or cold weather. I'm very Californian like that :-) B)Dan and I are going to have sushi at a little Japanese place called Fune that's close to the hotel. It'll be my first sushi experience, and I'm scared!

Meanwhile I have too much to get done. Thankfully I'm done with the Free Image Gallery extension for nCubed. I'll announce that here when it goes public. It's pretty darn cool if I do say so myself. I'll be adding a sample gallery to the site with it soon too. Back to work for me...

Today's word of the day is crapulous, pronounced \KRAP-yuh-luss. I'm not making this up, I swear. Don't believe me? Visit Merriam Webster's Word of the Day page.

Oh my goodness, I'm gonna cry, don't know what to say... Just saw Jay's blog and I'm really touched. I wish we lived close together too... Thanks Jay. :-)

My Big Fat Greek Life premiered last night and of course, I didn't miss it. Funny and cute, the show is still new and I'm not sure how much I'll really like it in the end. It definitely needs some time to mature, but that's typical of most new comedies I think. In my area it shows on CBS channel 2 on Sunday nights at 8 as its new time. Check your local listings etc., etc., eduksee? (That's a phonetical spelling of the greek word for okay :-))

About 3 months ago I planted some seeds in the planter in front of our house. I can't remember the name of the flowers but they were growing nice and tall and they'd soon be blooming in a few more weeks. We've had a really difficult time growing things in this planter and finally flowers were growing.

My husband hired a gardner to pull weeds on the sides of our home and told him not to touch the front planter. By now you can see what's coming... my flowers got pulled out! They didn't even look like weeds, they were planted in a pattern in both corners of the planter and two rows near the center of the planter. How could he think they were weeds??? To make matters worse, I couldn't re-plant them because today was trash day and by the time I discoverred what he'd done it was too late. I'm so bummed...

Last night I went shopping with a friend and while we were out we decided to stop in at Borders book store. Believe it or not, I hadn't been to a bookstore since Dreamweaver MX Killer Tips was released. I wanted to see if Borders had it in stock since I heard they're cutting back on carrying computer books and may not get in much new in way of books released after Christmas. Well, great news... they had one copy left! :-) Usually a book store carries between 2 and 4 copies so finding one means the others have sold ;-) I was also pleasantly surprised to see a single copy left of several other books I'd worked on last year which I'd not seen on a book store shelf before either. Kinda made it all real for me. :-)

Such a proud mommy moment that I must share... Gaetano came up to me with a plastic bundle of baloons from his 1st birthday cake. He pointed to one and said "That's red" and he was right! Then he did each color in the bundle successfully. Colors are something I haven't really worked with him that much on --least not as much as I should. So I'm pleasantly surprised that he's caught on so quick. Before I know it he'll be using Dreamweaver and writing extensions ;-)

My how time flies; it has been nearly a week since I posted. Well let's see... I've been building extensions for an upcoming product from a new company. Learning tons through this experience and finding that I really enjoy extension development. As complicated as things get and as frustrating as bug fixing can be, when I create something challenging that works I get such an awesome rush out of it. I have the feeling I'll be doing a lot more extension development this year. :-)

I've been fighting off a sore throat all day. Let's hope I'm not getting sick again.

Well, it was nice while it lasted... Hopefully we'll climb back up into the top ten again. :-)

What a nice way to start my morning... I got an email from our publisher that Dreamweaver MX Killer Tips is in the top 10 best sellers for Computers & Internet books. It got up to #4 before I woke up they tell me, but dropped a couple slots to #6 at the time of this writing.

Yes, I caught Gaetano's cold. My throat hurts... Gatano says, Mama no work. Mama sit. Mama sick. Hugs? So I'm going to do as he wishes and take the night off until his daddy comes home. I want my mommy :-(. She made me cookies and I ate all of them already... Mom's bringing more tomorrow. I love mom.

After giving Gaetano his cough medicine last night, he started coughing more (as expected). However the poor little guy was not sleeping comfortably, coughing every couple minutes. I decided he needed to sleep semi-upright to allow the drainage to go past his throat so he would cough less. How do you get a 2 yr. old to do this? You can't just prop 'em up on pillows and expect them to stay that way. So, mama propped him up on his inflatable car bed and slept there with him last night, scooting him back up every time he scooted down. No coughing as long as he was elevated, and I would wake by his cough the moment he slid to a flat position. I'm exhausted, but I'll do this every night until his cough supresses. I can't help but think there's got to be a better way...

Sheesh, not even one email asking if a power outage has kept me from adding new entries (see previous entry). Oh well... The answer is no, power didn't go out here, but about 20 minutes away the power was out for almost 2 days in some areas the news reported.

Anyhow, I've been busy working on CSS Assistant. This extension is going to be so much more than originally planned. I'm very excited about this one since it is something I've been wanting to code for over a year but wasn't skilled enough that long ago to pull it off. I still have a few hurdles to get over though since there are some rather advanced things going on, however I do have Danilo Celic as a co-creator on this extension to help when needed. I'll be revealing details about CSS Assistant as it nears completion. I'd say it is only at its 1/2 way point now, so it will be awhile but well worth the wait!

I'd better blog now while I can... Winds here are thrashing about the house. Patio furniture went flying and plants have been knocked over. I'm sure the neighbors are all going to have a lot of mess to clean up. The winds have caused the power to flicker. I don't mind the wind so much as I do that it shakes the house and sounds like the starting rumble of an earthquake. Good thing I have the Universal Power Source, though one doesn't like to see if they really work you know... Anyhow I'll be shutting off now, and hoping that power lines are working in the morning. Last time we had winds like this power was out for a few hours.

Belated Happy New Year! :-) Better late wishes than never right?

I've been busy busy lately, hence the lack of posts (although I'm pretty good about posting regularly even when I'm swamped). Gaetano is going through a clingy phase -- especially since he has a cold. All day long I hear his sweet little voice say things like: Mama come sit. I want you to sit. Mama kiss? Shake hands? I want a hug. I want to hold you. I want a kiss now. Hug, please? Pleeeeeeeeeeeease, I want a kiss. (I think you get the point.) I don't mind it at all, although it hasn't been very good for my productivity lately!

Yesterday I got an email from someone that read my interview in Inside Dreamweaver MX. It is the second email I've gotten from that interview. This one made my day though. The person who wrote was looking for a way to inspire his wife to get into web development with him. She felt she needed schooling to do so though. He felt my interview was just what he needed to show her that "all anyone needs is a strong will and some guidance". He's right! :-) It's emails like that which keep me going and make what I do worthwhile.

Last night was my parent's first ever Christmas party. It was a lot preparation since their house has been under construction and is now finished. Everyone had a great time and Dad was able to show off a few of his Christmas presents he got early: The lamp that hangs over the pool table that my brother and his wife got him and the Precision Pours and Liq-Trol that my husband and I got him. I just knew if I gave them to him on Christmas he'd tell me "I could have really used this at the party.", so he got them a little early. I sent some to Dan & Kristen (his wife)and he loved them enough to mention them in his blog :-). We can't recommend them highly enough! They make a great stocking stuffer too. Sorry I didn't mention it earlier folks, but I didn't want Dan to read about them here and order some for himself and spoil the surprise ;-).

I lost all my emails again! Last time I lost them was on the 10th. I'm hoping this doesn't happen every ten days or something :-. This really bites. In case you're wondering, my email is on Win2k. I recently moved from my 98PC to that one so that I wouldn't have email problems... go figure!

Like Mother like daughter... I definitely take after mine. As it turns out, when I was Gaetano's age my mom was leaving the gas station and my brother and I were in the back seat fighting. She turned around to discipline us and she crashed into a pole! (See yesterday's entry if you don't understand the humor in this story.) So I am guessing that when my grandchild is Gaetano's age, Gaetano will probably crash his car into a pole too. When that happens, I'll be able to think back to yesterday and laugh, just like my mom did today when I told her what I did and she told me the story of what she did. :-)

I'm going to cry... I just lost all my email for the past 2 weeks and have not a clue why. There are people I am supposed to respond to who I can't remember and several emails that have file attachments that I have now lost. This royally sucks...

I can't believe I did this... I'd bought a baloon for Gaetano while we were out shopping. On the way home he was complaining "I'm stuck", as he always does when he wants out of his car seat or if he can't reach something. So I drove along thinking he's fine but I couldn't see him cuz the baloon blocked his face. He was quiet, I was singing Christmas songs, all seemed fine until I turned the corner to my street. I noticed the baloon was still blocking his face and I got startled by it because he wasn't responding to me. I pulled into my driveway and turned back to reach over and move the baloon so I could see him (for a moment I thought maybe he choked himself on the string to the baloon). As I reached back I was braking, but I turned the wheel to the right without realizing it. BOOM right into one of the carport's poles. Gaetano was totally fine just passed out from exhaustion and I was worried for nothing. What a day :-(...

I was just thinking that Meriam-Webster's site needed a browser toolbar like Google's to let me look up words when I noticed their very subtle text ad for it. I've installed the m-w.com toolbar, and it appears to be very handy.

I'm in for some long days... My mom won't be babysitting Gaetano as much now because he's become too much for her to handle. Generally he's a really good kid, but he's at that age where kids get stubborn and refuse to let you dress them (especially pajamas) or change their diaper. I can't blame mom, because I know it drives me crazy when he acts like that too.

I'm going to try to take advantage of the time he'll be home with me to break him of these bad fits and get him potty trained. I think that will help quite a bit. Unfortunately this means I won't be getting as much work done :-(. Good thing I am done with the book :-) I sure hope this phase doesn't last too long!

Whatever will I do...? I just sent in the final chapter of author review on Dreamweaver MX Killer Tips. Even though I'm done, it doesn't feel like it yet. I'm excited, yet strangely bored and unsure what to do next! :-)

On this Thanksgiving Day, I'd like to share some of my thankfullness here because I know it will reach the right people (some of whom I have no other way to contact). I really do count my blessings often (should be every day, but it is only just often, lol). My biggest blessing I'm thankful for is Gaetano, but I'm sure you knew that. I love my littly guy! Of course I'm thankful for my wonderful husband and family as well.

The folks that may not realize their importance to me are who I'm hoping this message reaches. To every single tutorial author at DWfaq and every DWfaq beta tester: You're the greatest. DWfaq wouldn't be the same without your help. I appreciate everything you've contributed and it is a pleasure working with all of you. To Brad and Mike, extra thanks for all your help admining DWfaq. Dan Short, you're like a brother to me and I'm so grateful to have you in my life. (I'll spare the folks reading this all the mushiness and not to embarrass you too much <wink />.) To those I work with on various projects and/or books, I'm thankful for the opportunity to work with such talented people. Those who have helped me learn Dreamweaver and write extensions (you know who you are..) I'm so grateful to you for your help and will never forget it. To all my friends, I love you and am thinking of you today. I'm sure there's more I could say, but I'll spare you all, and return you to your holiday festivities. Happy Thanksgiving!

Looking out my office window I notice an elderly lady across the street sitting in a chair slouched over quite a bit. She's turned to the side so all I see is her profile, an her haid hangs in front of her face so I cannot see if she is awake or not. I didn't really acknowledge these details until five minutes later when I realized she hadn't moved.

Still a couple more minutes without movement. I sent my husband outside for a look since I wasn't dressed and didn't have shoes on. He couldn't tell either if she was okay. I didn't want to go up to her and startle her if she was sleeping since she doesn't know me.So I went to get the neighbor who knows her. Meanwhile, Ambrogio comes back to report she moved and is okay. Thank goodness! What a big relief. I'm so glad she's alright.

I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner. I've been running back and forth from my office to my son for months now. Every couple of minutes I'm up to check on him. Even in a matter of seconds he'll get himself in trouble though and I certainly can't be in the room with him always. Like once, I went to the bathroom and when I came out he'd gotten the powdered Strawberry Nesquik and poured it all over himself! Well, I have a new strategy...

Moms and dads out there, break out your old baby monitors. I set it up in the kitchen and now if he's anywhere near anything off limits I can not only hear him but I can see him since I was lucky enough to have been given a video monitor. Now Gaetano is confused that the moment he's into something he shouldn't be I know it. :-) Ha ha son, you're on candid camera!

Well today didn't turn out nearly as bad as I thought. :-) Had some difficulties getting my dentist appointments on time, but in the end I finally got there alright and had the work done. I'm feeling much better than before too.

Good news, I think I have solved the bug that was holding up production of JavaScript Assistant and CSS Assistant. If my solution continues to work as I re-introduce the code I removed for debugging, I'm gonna be thrilled! I've workd well over a hundred hours on CSS Assistant alone, plus Danilo has put a lot of time into it. It would have been a shame if the world never saw it because of a stupid bug. I just don't like releasing a product if a bug this bad can't be fixed or worked around unless. I'll definitely post my progress here as always.

Today's going to be one of those days; I can just tell. I woke up this morning later than I expected to (always a bad way to start the day) and needed to change my dentist apointment to have my stitches removed. As I was dialing it started to ring before I was finished. Startled that it rang, I promptyly hung up before the second ring. I then wondered what I'd dialed so I pressed redial to look on the phone and hung up as soon as the numbers appeared. I dialed 91111111111. How? I have no idea... the number I was calling was in the same area code as my parents and maybe I started dialing their number instead, which ends in 911? I was 1/2 asleep mind you. So I then called the dentist and rescheduled, but it took several tries because the buttons on my phone kept sticking. (hmmmm so that's how I dialed 911...) About 10 minutes later Brea police calls me and asks if there was an emergency because they got 2 hang ups from my number. I told her I was sooo sorry that my buttons had stuck and I misdialed. She tells me to hold so I do then she starts talking again and I was confused by whatever she said. So she says not you, hold on. So I say okay. Meanwhile I'm thinking that if this were a real emergency she's not too helpful. Then she says "Are you sure?" which I thought was great because maybe someone's got me at gunpoint and she's being thorough enough to see if it really wasn't an emergency. So I reply &qout;Yes, I'm sure, and I'm so sorry". So this gal gets upset and says, "Not you, hold on." Doesn't she know to put the mouthpiece away from her face if she isn't addressing me? Sheesh. So I hold some more... Then she says "Okay so there's no emergency, goodbye" Oh my goodness, how rude! :-) I mean, I know I didn't have an emergency but they should have a better way to check if there really was one. Like maybe call again a second time and ask to push a button on the phone or something clever, in case there is someone there with you preventing you from saying yes there is an emergency. Somewhat of a flawed system I guess. Oh well, thankfully there wasn't an emergency, and I hope I never really need to call 911... at least, not on her shift. ;-)

Have you ever had one of those days where you get in the shower, realize you forgot to grab a towel just as you've filled your hands with shower gel? Startled by not having a towel, instead of washing yourself, you decide to wash you hair, and then realize you've used shower gel to wash your hair instead of shampoo? After the trauma of getting out of the shower and grabbing the nearest towel while still freezing, you then reach into your underwear draw, pull out a pair and start putting them on, only to then realize that the undies are really your son's Underoos that somehow made it into your underwear drawer? Has this happened to you? Yes / No.

I'm still swollen... but easing off the medication slowly. I am so behind in all my personal projects that I won't even try to catch up. I'm just going to pretend everything is on schedule and move forward from here. Nice that I work for myself and can do that I suppose, but I'd much rather be caught up for real. Oh well...

The doctor said that the swelling is the worst on the third day. I didn't believe it, but now I do. I feel like I look like the Godfather..

I'm home now... I'm numb, bleeding lots, and have the hiccups. I'm not sure but I think they knocked me out becasue I don't remember anything. The nurse said my gums under the lower right wisdom tooth were indeed infected which was causing my pain. She said despite the drugs I yelped when they pulled it. I think they gave me more drugs at that point cuz I don't remember. I hate that... Hopefully when the numb wares off it won't hurt...

In about 3 1/2 hours I'll be getting 3 wisdom teeth pulled. I admit I am nervous about it. I've been in agony with this tooth ache for a week now and it has only gotten progressively worse. As painful as this is, I can' help but be afraid that the extration and recovery will be even more painful. Not even Vicodin is helping now, so I can't imagine feeling better any time soon. Wish me luck... I'm going to need it. (They're giving me some "good drugs" because I'm too chicken to do general anesthesia.)

The past 2 days have been very frustrating when it comes to coding my latest 2 extensions. I'm basically battling a bug in Dreamweaver and it is one I'm clueless how to squish at this point. Basically both of my new extensions involve the ability to wrap the user's selection with some code. That all works fine and dandy. The problems start when the user changes their mind and does and Undo. If the user does an Undo, then makes another selection, the selection is not recognized and the code is inserted after their previous selection before the Undo. It is very annoying to say the least and will prevent these two extensions from being released if I cannot find a workaround. Wish me luck folks, I seriously need it.

I should learn to not get over anxious and think certain things are simple. :-) It turns out there are some nasty little bugs that need squishing in JavaScript Assistant. I'll work with it while coding CSS Assistant too, and not rush releasing it until bugs are properly squished. Just wishful thinking on my part that this would be easy... and yes, I've added features -- only because I'm lazy and I know they'll help me in the end. If they help me, they may help others... that's the plan at least! :-)

Mmmmmm... they had peach :-)

This morning I was chatting with Laurie and decided that I didn't feel like working on CSS Assistant, because I was lazy writing all that same JavaScript over and over again. So I decided I'll make a JavaScript Assistant as a freebie, since it was so easy to write that in 20 minutes I was done. Well, excpept for the icons (that's always the tough part). Besides, I could have made them all Snippets; there aren't any real special features or anything. I just happen to lik clicking buttons and having them in easy reach. When I'm coding JavaScript, I like to have the full width of the window, so I tend to hide all panels. Really, nothing special, just a matter of comfort for this one. I'll be releasing this one probably late tonight, or possibly tomorrow. Stay tuned...

I was doing so well on my diet and then Halloween came... I've gained 6lbs. since then. So before I go back on the diet to lose the weight I gained becuase I ate way too much candy this past week, I sent hubby on a run to Cinnabon for their new fruit Cinnabons. I forget what they're called since I've never tried one. If I recall correctly, they have apple and peach. Dan's confirmed they have apple, but I'm hoping they have peach. If not I'll try apple and get a pecan roll for later. Mmmmmm.... Did I make you hungry? ():-)

Have you ever had a dream so real that when you wake up it totally upsets you that it wasn't real? I got to stop having dreams like that... This time my Godmother was still alive, and her death was faked for her safety's sake. Now 8 years later, she was able to reveal she is alive and well and always knew what I was up to and hated she couldn't really be there. :-(

My tooth still hurts... If this keeps up I think I'll go back and have it pulled. It is my lower right wisdom tooth. I hope if it gets yanked I don't lose any wisdom along with the tooth though! ;-)

Just some final touches to do on the demo movie left now... except first, I have to go to sleep.

Getting 2 cavities filled was definitely not the way to start my morning...OUCH! :-( 10 hours later it still hurts. I probably would have been better off if he'd just pulled the thing. I don't look forward to the dental visit with Gaetano. He needs caps on several teeth (a result of bad grinding in his sleep). I hope he doesn't cry as much as I did today. Seriously, labor hurt less than this torture -- even before the epidural.

So needless to say, I haven't been in a very good mood all day. I'm working on a Flash demo for Color Assistant since it is the kind of product that you don't realize how useful it is without seeing it in action. I am a total Flash dummy and now have gained a respect for Flash folks who have the patience to learn the program. It isn't as easy as it looks!

I'm very excited about this little extension I must say. I've added all the features into this release. I'm just writing the help file that explains how the preferences work, then I'll package it up again and send it off to beta testers for checking. Writing this extension has taught me quite a bit and will help me finish the next extension, CSS Assistant. I'm looking forward to beta feedback on this version, since it incorporates some things that they requested. I'll keep you posted!

I forgot to mention earlier... would you believe that yet another feature has creeped into this release? Yep, another. The latest 2 features are some user preferences. I've coded the preferences menu already and have the checkmarks toggling as they should. Now it is just a matter of adding those features to the output code. Should be pretty simple to do that part. I have it mapped out in my brain already. These past 3 weeks have been really good for me from a JavaScript perspective. I've learned so much and ideas keep lighting off in my mind now. I knew eventually things would snap into place for me; it is definitely a great feeling.

If you have a 2 year old, an old PC that you let him/her use, and you're missing a credit card, check inside the Floppy drive. :-)

Hmmm just noticed my buddies with blogs are slackin'... no new post in a few days. I suppose it may be because Danilo isn't around to harrass us about it ;-). Speaking of Danilo, he should be back already. Can't wait to see his Hawaii pics!

I've added one feature of the two fully and it is working great for me. As for the second feature, I'm not really sure it is worth my time. I still need to do some research to be sure though. I am now contemplating releasing it with the single extra feature only, but will get more beta feedback first on the second feature. So far feedback has indicated that the second feature, though cool, isn't that important. I'll ask a few more people to test and see what they think and go from there.

I talked it over with the other developer, and he doesn't mind if I add features to my extension and sell it. He's decided to let his out for free and not develop it further since I am doing so. I've started adding one new feature already and have a story board for how the other should work. Now I just have to figure out how to code it all!

Brandon Nicholas Parada was born at 6:57 PM today. He weighs 7 pounds 14 ounces and looks very much like his older brother did when he was born. Antonietta was given Pitocin at 11:30 AM to start her labor and her water was broken by the doctor at 2 PM. By 5:30 PM she was only dialated to 4cm so we thought we'd have a really long wait. She had pain medication via IV but refused epidural. When she hit about 6 1/2cm she decided to go for the epidural, but by the time the doctor came in to do it, she was already almost 9cm so it was too late. Her first child was born with about 3 pushes but this one didn't want to make it easy for her so he made her push about 10 times. She screamed quite a bit and feels like she's losing her voice, but is doing great now that the baby is out of her belly. No more pain and no incision. Big Brother Brian says that when they get home he's going to give his brother candy and play baseball with him. So cute! This makes the count 3 nephews and 1 niece. Hopefully somebody evens that up a bit...:-)

Well folks, she's at the hospital now and labor should be in progress. I'm off to wait in the hospital cafeteria until they let us see her. I'll give all the details when I get home later tonight. Bye!

1 out of 2 ain't bad. Angels won the World Series, but my sister-in-law didn't have the baby. Tomorrow they'll induce her labor, so I'll bring the laptop to the hospital and work while I wait. No internet conection though, but that's alright.

Well there goes my idea! I asked a friend for input on possible causes for a global variable issue I was having. So I told him what my extension was and he had done the same thing already. He plans to release his next week along with others. So, sorry folks this one isn't getting released publicly. I'll think of something else though. I already have a few ideas brewing...

Two reasons to celebrate today: Dan's Birthday and the Anaheim Angels won tonight. Tomorrow is game 7 of the World Series. I suspect my sister-in-law will have the baby around the ninth inning tomorrow making it a very exciting day... We'll see!

Meanwhile, I'll be coding away at my next extension. It has just one bug that I'm fighting and once I get that settled off it goes to beta. If you hand-code your CSS in Dreamweaver you're going to love this! More clues as I near beta :-)...

My sister-in-law still hasn't had the baby! If she doesn't go into labor and have the baby this weekend, they'll induce labor on Monday.

Phew, I did it! I finally released the upgrade to the Template-Lover's Suite. Originally I planned to add only 3 new objects, but of course my beta testers asked for more. Ask and ye shall receive (this time at least)! I have another extension in the works and lots of other good things going on to keep me busy. As always, this is the place to keep up with what's going on in my life... stay tuned!

Laurie just sent me a hysterical link to a flash movie that she found. I have to say I can relate as both a mom, and part Italian. :-)

I'm going to be an aunty again... like today maybe even. My husband's sister Antonietta and her husband Brian are expecting their second son. She is due on October 26th, which happens to be her father's birthday. (My father-in-law passed away 5 years ago. That's who we named our son after.) Anyhow, Antonietta saw the doctor this morning and the baby is about 8 1/2 lbs. so the doctor advised she take castor oil today. Last time she took castor oil, about 6 hours later she had the baby. She plans to take it at about 3:30 pm today. So if I'm not around, I'll be at the hospital...waiting.

Sorry ladies, Danilo is officially married. He's even sent me pictures to proove it and has given me permission to share them with you. (I was a little lazy and used the Web Photo Album 2 extension with a pre-made template so don't look at the source code ;-).) Danilo will be back in town next weekend - hopefully with pictures of their trip to Hawaii. Congratulations Danilo and Melissa!

Ok, before I go, I had to take a few screenshots of the formats to show you. This is the current (and likely final) layout for all the menu options in the DWfaq Date/Time Formats menu. Here's what the Edit Formats List looks like with the editable DWfaq Formats listed. Last but not least, here is a sample of one of the dialogs used to make your own variations of the DWfaq Date/Time formats. Okay, now I'm really leaving...

Server Formats are all done. I just need to make the final MXP and get it into Beta. I'll do that soon as I get back from shopping. Yep, I'm playing hookie from work for a few hours to spend time shopping and have dinner with my son and husband. Of course when I get in I'll get back to work as always.

Mmmmm chocolate filled Oreo cookies dunked in Strawberry NesQuik milk. Diet? What diet? I'm not on no stinkin' diet...

You're going to have to take my word for it on this folks, but it has been 2 years since I first posted on the Dreamweaver newsgroup. How do I remember this? Well, last year I looked it up shortly before TODCON. TODCON happened to fall on the 3rd of October last year. When I went to look at the Dreamweaver newsgroup archives at google, I can't get more than one record for October 3rd, 2000 to show at all. So I know something is messed up at the archive. I even searched for Murray who posted at least 10 times a day back then and got zero results for the first week of October 2000. So, looks like the archives are hosed and you'll just have to take my word for it. Happy 2nd Anniversary to me. :-)

I don't get out much. Really, I mean that. I'm home more than anyone I know. Quite possible that's because I work from home but still. I need to get out more. So, tonight I did just that. Gaetano is spending the night at my mom's and my husband had the night off so we decided to go see a movie. Remember, I said I don't get out much. I've been to about 4 or 5 movies since my son was born. Let's see, I've seen Planet of the Apes, Beauty and the Beast (which I have on video anyhow from 10 years ago but that new scene was worth going for), My Big Fat Greek Wedding (that I saw 2 months ago with my mom) ummm ummmm darn, I can't remember. So, what'd we opt to go see? My Big Fat Greek Wedding of course. Great movie, and I didn't mind seeing it twice. I'm half greek so I think it was especially funny to me. Anyhow (this is the part where I tell you why I feel like I don't get out much), as I recall previews in movies last about 8 to 10 minutes. We get there at 10:19pm when the moview was supposed to start at 10:10pm. 9 minutes late and I'm thinking we missed the beginning, but no we were in luck. Previews had already been going for 9 minutes and didn't end for another 20 minutes. I kid you not, I looked at the clock on my cell phone just before it started. Since when do they show TV commercials before movies? I'm so out of touch. Ok, this probably sounds like I'm complaining about it, but really I'm not. I'm just reflecting on how out of touch with the world I am. When did all these things change? Where was I and why wasn't I informed? :-) Seriously, I don't mind it, I was just pretty surprised by it all. By the way, if you haven't seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding yet, go see it.

Dan's been gettin' fancy with his blog. I think he's trying to make me jealous. He's doing a fine job of that if he is! Soon as I'm done with Killer Tips I'll have some time to play around and add all the features I'd been planning. One of them is an archive of pages I make when helping folks on the Dreamweaver newsgroup. I'll assign it some keywords, a link to the original thread at google, a description, and a link to the solution page. It should be fun to chronicle these things, and eventually be able to pass out the links when duplicate issues occur on the newsgroup. See folks, this site isn't all about me talking about things like potty training; it is about the average day in the life of a Dreamweaver developer who happens to work from home and is a mother of a (precious) 2 1/2 year old boy. :-)

Ever have one of those days where your head is hurting you so bad and you've got a ton of work to do? It doesn't happen to me that often but I had a huge headache today and couldn't wait to get rid of it so much so I actually crushed the Motrin before taking it. I'm feeling better but not 100% yet. Hopefully it doesn't come back when the meds where off. I don't want to take more. I prefer to avoid pills whenever possible.

Only a few more days of writing the book left. It has been a great experience and I'm really looking forward to seeing it in print. After I'm done, I have plans to get 2 commercial extensions finished up. One is called CSS Assistant and the other is an update to the Template-Lover's Suite. I'll be sure to announce it here when they're done. On another note, Dan fixed our store product delivery issue by giving the customer the option to download the product or have it emailed to them. I can't always be online, and it seems that the few download problems we've encountered always happen just minutes after I go to bed at night. This should really make things easier on the customer and on me.

Oh my goodness, it sure has been a long time since I posted a new message. I've just been unbelievably busy since I got back from TODCON. In case you were wondering, I've lost all the weight I put on while there, and am aiming to lose another 6 lbs., maybe 8. If I do, I'll have pretty much the figure I had 10 years ago. That would so cool...

Woke up early and did a bunch of work this morning so that I can take off to the county fair for a few hours. I'll be back about 3:30pm if anyone cares. :-)

Just got home from the hospital... I'm exhausted. Gaetano is okay now, and asleep in his bed. About 2 hours ago I heard a scream, dropped my JavaScript Bible, and ran to the kitchen. Gaetano had gotten his right thumb stuck in a 3/4 open empty can of olives. (I had no idea Ambrogio left the can on the counter.) Gaetano was panicing, screaming repeatedly "I stuck!". It must have really hurt, because I couldn't get him to hold still so I could get his hand out. I reached my hand in the can and pushed the lid in with my finger next to Gaetano's in an effort to not let the lid cut into him more. I didn't get cut, and frankly I am not sure if my effort helped him or not. It seemed his thumb was attached to the lid. Once I got his thumb loose he was bleeding a lot and it looked just awful. I rinsed it with water, and put pressure on it while I called Ambrogio to come home. (He was making a grocery store run.) As I waited for him to get home, I dressed Gaetano in his pajamas (my son loves being shirtless) with one hand, while putting pressure on the wound with my other hand. Soon as Ambrogio came home, he got Gaetano in the car, while I threw on some clothes. When we got to the ER, they took him in right away. They put on some Lidocaine gel to numb the wound. Gaetano kept telling everyone, "Boo boo, owie is cold". There was an area of the wound that was all bunched up and had a dark spot in it. The doctor wanted to clean it, and make sure it wasn't metal or an olive. Turned out that it wasn't and stitches were not needed. Unfortunately the doctor had to snip off a big chunk of skin. Of course it started bleeding again too. I just hope it heals normal and that it isn't malformed or anything. My poor baby :-(. I just know it is going to hurt when he wakes up...

My son is too cute. I know it is a biased opinion but he really is. He now asks me if he can watch "Airy Pottuh" which sounds like Harry Potter with an English accent! Awwww my baby, he's growing up too quick. :-) Which reminds me, I really need to start that Gaetano Says section of the site...

My friend Jay A. Grantham gave Gaetano and I matching Houston Fire Department t-shirts at TODCON. Of course, I just had to take some pictures of Fireman Gaetano wearing his t-shirt. Thanks Jay!

Hello friends, family and everyone else... I'm back from TODCON. It was absolutely fabulous and even more wonderful than last year. I've posted some pictures under TODCON 2002 for your viewing enjoyment. (Thanks Laurie for the second photo of Dan and I!)

I was too shook up (literally) last night to write anything here... Somewhere close to midnight I felt a slight shake, and after about 2 seconds I realized it was an Earthquake. I jumped to my feet and shouted for my husband, "Earthquake! grab the baby!". I was blocked in my office by the child gate and saw Ambrogio stumble to grab Gaetano off the floor where he was laying down playing with his cars. He'd begun crying before I shouted, at the moment the shaking got violent. Before I could get the darn gate open, my husband and son were by the doorway with me on the other side of the gate as I struggled to get it open. Soon as I got the gate open, the shaking stopped and my son reached for me crying for mama. My poor baby was so scared. His little heart was beating so fast, just like mine was and he wouldn't let go of me for at least 20 minutes. He kept saying, "I broke the walls. I scared.". I think that was his way of telling me the walls were shaking.

It was at about 10 minutes before the TV news started reporting on it. They said that the center was North of Yorba Linda and South of Diamond Bar. Can you guess where that is? Brea; where I live. They said it was only a 4.6 but I've lived through many earthquakes, including the 6.1 in Whittier. This was no 4.6 it had to be at least a 5.0 or more. What's a few tenths of a point? A lot when it comes to earthquakes. We felt 2 aftershocks and my boys couldn't sleep. We all went to bed at about 3 am together. Gaetano stayed with us, more for our comfort and peace of mind than his. Hopefully there won't be any more shaking...

Since I've lost 27 pounds over the last 4 months, hardly any of my pants fit me (except some from pre-motherhood). I spent yesterday and today finding new pants that fit. The new pants are a little on the snug side for what I'm used to, but I'll just let that serve as motivation to lose more weight.

It's here, it's really really here... off to play with the new laptop!

My uncle had his brain surgery yesterday and is doing well. He's in ICU, but is breathing on his own and talking. He has all his motor skills as far as we know, but it will be awhile before we know if his memory was affected. Just thought I'd mention it here in case anyone read my original post about his condition awhile back...

My laptop is due to arrive by FedEx any minute and I'm waiting anxiously as I try to get work done. I hear a noise at the door, but I didn't hear a truck. I literally run to the door and there's a package and I see the Airborne Express truck drive away. The box is just a little too small to be the laptop and is labeled Dell. I'm thinking that they dropped off the accessories but forgot the laptop! Then the same truck backs up about 25 feet and says he has another package for me. I was excited, thinking it was the laptop. But, noooooooo... it was the free PDA that came with the computer. Hurry up Mr. FedEx man... my heart can't take this much longer!

I just checked the tracking at FedEx for the laptop. It arrived in City of Industry at about 8:05am today. That's only 20 minutes from here. Why isn't my package here yet?! Hurry FedEx man, hurry... don't you know I'm anxious? :-)

Spent a few hours at the mall today looking for clothes. I found a few cute tops, but I need more pants. I'll have to go back again for pants and shoes. It has been a whole year since I've bought new clothes, so this is a treat for me.

I just checked on my order status for the new laptop. Woo hoo - it is in transit! Should be here today, if not then by tomorrow. How exciting! :-)

Gaetano busted the microwave stand's wooden door while he was supposed to be under his daddy's supervision. The wood actually split so there is no way to repair it. I mean we could, but it would break very easily. They were both properly scolded of course, but I'm still not over it yet...

Oh no, not again... :-( Parents, please read this, and spread the word. My husband just called me from work to tell me that his co-workers 3 month old son died last night. The child is survived by his twin sister and other siblings. The father put the boy down in his crib with a bottle and left to the living room to play on the PlayStation with his other children. After the game he returned to check on the boy and found he'd spit up and stopped breathing. This is the second death of a co-worker's child that has happened where playing video games was more important than caring for a child. The first was about 2 months ago. The parents wanted to go have sex, so they asked their 12 year old son to watch his younger brother, age 2. The 2 year old boy wandered outside and drowned in the swimming pool while the 12 year old brother played his Nintendo. Yes, I realize these are tragic accidents, and these families will feel enormous guilt and sadness for a long time to come. I do sympathize with them; accidents happen. Please, check on your children often, and never ever leave a child in the care of a minor, or a baby alone while he/she is eating.

I went to bed at 2am last night and woke at 5am. Then I worked until 8:30am and went back to bed until 10am. Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines. I need coffee...

I just bought a really cute Guess top online. This is the first time I've purchased clothing online ever and I hope it fits me! You know, the top reminds me of something but I just can't seem to place my finger on it...

Since June 1st, I've lost 21 1/2 of my total 25 1/2 pounds of weightloss. How did I do it you ask? Check out The Atkins Diet. I've been pretty strict with it and keep my carbs very low. It is tough being married to a gourmet chef; I blame him for all my weight gain ;-). So tonight I am celebrating breaking the 25 lb. mark and going shopping for a few new skinny clothes. I'll buy 'em snug since I'm not done losing weight yet. At least another 4 1/2 to go, but who knows, maybe I'll lose more!

Dan said, "Dude, you gotta get a Dell!" and so that's what I've done. Just put my order in for my first laptop ever. Of course I couldn't go with the standard 4150 model; I had to customize it. Estimated ship date is 8/30. I sure hope it gets here in time for TODCON.

I decided to take a picture of my burns, because I'm insane and have little shame. Be warned, you should not view this picture unless you are wearing sunglasses. My leg is very white! The burns are worse on my thigh, with about 20 splotches all over. My wrist bubbled already and I accidentally scraped it. Can we say, "Ouch!"? The burns are way worse than what it looks like in the picture, especially the ones on my thigh. They've not blistered yet but the skin is raised. Rememeber, I warned you not to look at this picture...

My mom has this story she likes to tell me about that when I was about 2 years old I was by the front door and about to get out and she ran to grab me just as I stepped out the door. I'd have fallen down a step about 8 inches or so and probably would have gotten hurt if it weren't for mom. She was badly scraped and bruised on her arms, legs and I think even her face. Thanks mom, I've returned the favor to my son today.

I was about to cook a steak and started heating the oil. Stupidly I let the oil get too hot and without thinking, I tossed the steak in the pan. The oil splashed all over and got me on my upper chest, my right wrist, my right thigh and down the back of my right leg. When I told Dan what happened he said, "What were you doing, dancing?". No, I quickly spun around to push my son out of the way. He didn't get hurt at all, but the back of my leg got it badly. I was just relieved he was spared. He's to cute to be scarred. So now my right leg is swollen (see post from a couple days ago) and burned. I'll never make this dumb mistake again, and he's no longer allowed in the kitchen when I'm cooking until he's 10 years old!

Proud mama moment here! For the last few weeks I've been trying to teach Gaetano how to properly ask for things. He repeats each word after me and the sentence is always, "Can I have some (more)______ please mama?". As the weeks have past he's said: "Can I have" , "Can I set go!" (we play a game of ready? set? go! and somehow he decided that is how he should ask me to play with him I guess), "Can I have some please mama" (but he doesn't tell me what he wants so I have no idea...). Well tonight he got it right! Gaetano asked, "Can I have some water please mama?". I'm so proud! :-)

Spoke to my Aunt and found out that my uncle is having surgery next Tuesday as long as his diabetes is stable. The prognosis looks good according to the doctors. The tumour is near the part of the brain that controls memory, which may explain his recent memory problems. If anything is at risk it would be his memory, which I'm told is better than losing your vision, speech or mobility. I'll be praying for him. Thanks to those of you who have shown your concern. I'll keep you posted.

A friend of mine just emailed to tell me something and I just gotta share it because I find it rather interesting. My friend, we'll just call her Lisa to protect her true identity, is about to become a dancer...ummm, some would call it a stripper. Well, this is what I find rather interesting; to be a stripper you must have a license to be a one. Some cities require it, some don't. So the city she happens to be gaining new employment in does require it and to obtain the license you have to be interviewed at the local police station. She is going on Thursday I believe and if anything interesting comes of it I'll let you know. Who'd of thought you'd need a license to take your clothes off on stage; go figure! Sorry guys, no pictures of her yet.

So, yesterday I was taking a nap and the telephone rang. It startled me, I jumped up and then I hear POP and my right leg hurt on the inner area of the knee. I have a pretty high threshold for pain; labor was easy. This was about 3pm and by about 10pm I finally noticed the leg starting to hurt. I didn't notice that it hurt this morning, I got up and hurried down the hall to work. It wasn't until I stood up to go wake up my sleepy-head husband a few minutes ago that I noticed a slight pop and more pain. I limped to the bedroom. I am in my pajamas (the perks of working at home) and I lifted the pajama pants to see if I was bruised. To my amazement, my right leg is about twice the size of my left leg! Now that I have seen that, it is starting to hurt. I bet if I didn't look, I wouldn't feel a thing, darnit. No, I am not going to the doctors!

I just got off the phone with my cousin and have just now found out that our uncle has a brain tumour. My dad and his brother haven't spoken in over 20 years and hence I missed out on having a uncle. I saw my uncle Phillip 2 months ago for the first time in years where I was able to speak to him. On some levels it was like no time had passed and on others it was like we were strangers. I really wish I could fly up to Oregon to see him :-(.

I was just looking at an old email account clearing out messages when I came across one that I thought would be appropriate for this site. It is one of those annoying chain emails where they ask you to send it to people, blah blah blah... but this one was actually kinda cool. It is called I'm Just a Mother?.

Ok, so you may be wondering, how I came up with the idea for DWmommy. Truth be told, it wasn't my idea; it was Massimo Foti's idea. It's sort of a long story, and one I'd rather not explain tonight. To make it short, he suggested it basically because I'm often a nuetral party and someone people seek advice from. :-) One friend suggested I turn this site into a Dear Abby type thing for web-developers. Not a bad idea... if I only had the time for it!

My son is at grandma's and should be home soon. I miss him! I still have a lot of work to do before he gets here so I better get crackin'.

Hello there! I've just made this site publicly known on the Dreamweaver newsgroup moments ago. What have I done??? :-)

Lately people have had their undies in a bundle on the Dreamweaver newsgroup. I can understand some of the frustrations, but I think people spend way to much time worrying about the way that people post. If there is someone whose style you don't care for, add them to your block list. If you learn to use your newsreader wisely, you'll not be bothered by stupid things. Can't we all just get along? :-)

I'll comply and make my signature shorter, but the Team Macromedia line is 1st to go. If we're to be required to keep it than we should be allowed an extra line in our signatures, rather than the typical 6 that Matt Brown, Community Manager, suggests. Ok, enough about this... time to get more writing done!

Yesterday was my niece Francesca's 6th birthday. We spent most of the day getting ready for that with last minute gift shopping and all. I'm way behind on work now though, and shouldn't have stayed there so late, but hubby wanted to hang with his family. Actually, for a nice change, I had a pleasant visit.

Today Dan helped me learn how to make ZIP files on the fly so my co-author could download screenshots and not have to have FTP access to the server. I'm not quite done with that page yet, but I sure learned quite a bit.

I'll be spending the rest of today catching up on the book. I've a bunch of writing to get done over the next couple of days... fun!

I've spent today working on the archive for records older than 3 days. It has been quite challenging but I think I finally got it. I'll know for sure once I add a few more records and do some further testing. This time however I had to enlist the help of Dan. Thanks Dan! :-) My issue was that I was getting bad dates returned by the SQL I used. I needed to enclose the date variables in # marks and that did the trick. A few more tweaks and I was good to go.

Woo hoo; I did it! I figured out how to make it so I can have multiple entries for the same day here and only make the date show up once. I'm so proud, LOL! I didn't even harrass Dan for help. Next I need to get the navigation going and then the archives. Fun, fun, fun... I still wish this was being done in CF and I just might convert it for practice later on. After all, absolutely everything is stored in the database. It would really only be a matter of changing the recordsets, changing some If statments to CFIF and changing the page's file extension to .cfm (at least I think that's about all it should take). We'll see though..

I'm just now starting to feel better. Being in pain all day has messed up my head and I can't concentrate on work. I've not gotten a darn thing done today really. Ok so I got a few things done but not enough. I better hurry up and get work done before company comes over tonight...

I had way too much to eat last night and I'm paying the price. I woke up a little while ago with the worst belly ache. I've only had about 4 1/2 hours sleep and it was entirely restless. I really shouldn't have had brocolli cheese soup so late at night, but it was so darn tasty.

Things are going well... some exciting new things are coming to the DWfaq Store (especially in a couple more months). I wish I could say more, but I can't just yet.

Tonight is my sister-in-law Maria's 23rd birthday so we're taking her out to T.G.I. Friday's. She has no idea what I do for a living at all. In fact, all of my husband's immediate family just thinks that I design web pages. I think I'll finally clue Maria in tonight. She's been the most supportive of me working from home out of all my in-laws.

We had an absolute blast at the zoo yesterday! We fed the goats and sheep. Gaetano was really excited and not at all scared to let the animals eat from his hands. There was this smart little monkey there that reached outside his cage and used a branch to sweep some sunflower seeds close to him so he could grab and eat them. After the zoo, I was supposed to come home and work but I needed some office supplies so we headed to Best Buy. By the time I got home it was so late!

Well, my computer decided to punish me for taking the day off. The clock was behind by seven hours, it locked up on me, after rebooting I kept getting the darn blue-screen-of-death over and over again. After rebooting I got a black screen and nothing else and that was scary! So after rebooting once more I finally got my desktop up and I backed up absolutely everything. I went to Fry's today, and bought a battery and a new fan for the tower. When I went to install the fan I realized there was nowhere to mount it. I figured there has to be a way, and yep there sure was one. I took those little wire twisty tie straps you use to close plastic bags and wired it to the PC. So far that seemed to work fine. Then I realized that the fan was sitting too close to the tower wall and it wouldn't be very helpful. So I took two Q-tips and shoved them through holes in the back of the tower to prop the fan up so it wouldn't hit the tower wall anymore. I know, my description of what it looks like sounds insane, but darnit, I'm a mommy not a computer repair person!

I'm playing hookie! My husband has the day off, and wants to take our son to the zoo. Originally they were going to go without me so I can get some work done, but I'm jealous! I've been working hard lately, so I'm going to ditch work for a few hours. I'll take some pictures and upload them later so you can see how much fun we had... I'm outta here!

I think I just really need some sort of outlet now. Being a work-from-home mom and the lack of adult interaction can take its toll. So I've decided that this is the place where I can just talk about whatever it is that's on my mind or happening in my life. Some of this will be work (Dreamweaver) related, and a whole lot of this will be personal. I fully intend to brag about my little boy – probably to the point that it gets annoying – but if you don't like it, nobody is forcing you to read this anyhow. Besides, there will be plenty of pictures of Gaetano (that's my son in case you didn't know) and once you see just how cute he is, I'll be totally forgiven for going on and on about him! Oh, and seeing as how I'm a mom of a child still in diapers (I can't wait until he's potty trained!) you can fully expect to hear all the icky things too.

Normally I'm a pretty private person. I don't even like the idea of people I don't know seeing a picture of me. It is just a creepy kind of feeling; people knowing who I am, and I haven't a clue what they look like. Perhaps I'll get over it with the growth of this site. I'm somewhat surprised at myself for opening up this little window into my life. I'm not sure how I'll handle it, or if I'll even keep active with this site... everything is just up in the air, and I'm not going to think about it. I'll just take it one day at a time....