Web Design and Organization

One of Anne Taintor's fun pieces!

     I am not very tidy. I never have been, and it is one of those things that has caused me great embarrassment on more than one occasion. I am better now than I was a few years ago, but I still don't have a good handle on home keeping and organization. Don't get me wrong though, I appreciate organization and tidiness. I love coming home to a tidy house and working in a tidy studio. Cooking in an organized kitchen is heaven. But the time it takes to get it all organized and sorted, well, that is just something I have a hard time putting on top of my priority list. I was very hard on myself about all this a few years ago, but I finally accepted myself and my organizational shortcomings. I bring other gifts to the party. My true friends don't judge me based on the tidiness of my home, thank goodness. And my family loves me and accepts me too. But what does this mean in terms of Web Design you ask? Read on...
     Organization is incredibly important in Web Design. Crucial. Programs like Dreamweaver and C# rely on good file organization. Things have to be saved in the same folder within the same file hierarchy every time. You cannot just rearrange documents, folders and files when you have the time. It breaks the paths these programs have created and it causes them to complain and throw out messages letting you know things are "missing," links are "broken" and nothing will work quite right until things are rectified. It is a big drag to say the least. But if you planned ahead, created that first folder in the appropriate place, you would be ahead of the game.
     In order to succeed in Web Design and Web Development, I have to be organized. It has to be a top priority. As I create file hierarchies for my classes, I have to plan ahead, anticipating future files that may need folders. The structure of the folder hierarchies has to make sense now and in the future. No more just saving things on the desktop and then relocating them to a more appropriate location at a later date. Tidiness counts in Web Design. I am adapting to it, soaking it up and trying to apply good organization to all my computer files. My brain is being rewired and I wonder if this will affect other aspects of my life? Can organization and disorganization coexist in the same person's head? It would be nice, but I'm not counting on it. Only time will tell...but if I am blogging about my super tidy studio or house a few years from now, you'll know where it started.

Sweet Saturday

     I love Saturdays. Although we usually spend a good part of the day keeping house, it feels so good to get something accomplished and then we also make time to play. Today we worked on straightening out and purging items from the living/family room. It is a small space, so any real clutter is just not cool. I also set up a new visual journal work space in the same room right under the big picture window. I've been spreading out on the sofa for the last few weeks, so I needed to do something. And there is actually room after the room was decluttered! I'm just thrilled to have a little spot to play. We also spent some time weeding the flower garden in front of the house. It is looking so lovely, really filling in nicely with all the wonderful weather and extra rain we have had. The weeds have also been trying to get a foot hold, but we pulled a lot of them out today. I try to spend a few minutes each day pulling a few weeds to stay on top of it, but with all the rains, they are just going wild!  And I finished reading two books today, "Jane Austen in Scarsdale," and "Creative Time and Space: Making Room for Making Art." Both were excellent books. I'm a huge fan of Jane Austen, so the modernization of "Persuasion" was just for pleasure. "Creative Time and Space" was like a play date with other artists, learning about how they find the time and create space to work.
     I usually do some big cooking in the kitchen on Saturdays, but with my current fat free diet restriction, I am trying to stay out of the place. I'm really missing cheese, butter and good chocolate right now, but I know it is temporary and I most certainly do not want to have another gall bladder attack before my surgery. I think I'll pick up some fat free cottage cheese tomorrow and see if it will satisfy my cheese cravings.
     And then to wrap up the day we are watching "Paulie," such an adorable movie, I think it is one of my top five family movies, we just love it. Like I said, "Sweet Saturday!"