I didn’t intend on taking several days to finish this new layout, but I got frequently sidetracked with frequent sexings from the husband, interesting TV shows, other blogs, internet goings-on, etc. And then when I was working on the new layout, I took longer than I originally thought because of various tweaks and bugs I wanted to iron out completely.
Anyway, after all of that, it’s finally done. Pure CSS, XHTML (valid, but don’t hold me to that as I haven’t yet run it through the w3c validator), featuring my own illustration (done by hand, scanned in and edited and enhanced with Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop), and done up with lovely spring colors. The illustration loosely represents me, though the capris and top are replicas of ones I own.
Feel free to leave me feedback and suggestions on the layout in the comments. 
It’s been a quiet couple of days. My trip to Philly with Ryan, my mother and grandfather was uneventful, though we did have a bit of excitement when we managed to track down my great-uncle Rich, whom we haven’t spoken to or seen since mid 2001. He remembered Dan, but of course didn’t know that we were still together, had married and had two children. He was rather enchanted with his great-great nephew (is that the right term?) Ryan, who takes to anyone willing to smile at him and hold him for a bit.
Yesterday morning there was a bit of drama. The floor company came in at 8am to put down my new kitchen floor. All was well until they pulled up the old flooring. To my horror and disgust, rotting sub flooring, covered in layers of mold, was found extending out along the width of the back door and about three inches outward, and along the width of the kitchen window and about five inches outward. Another small area was found in the laundry area, and yet another small spot along the wall across from the laundry area.
Obviously the new floor – packed nicely and tucked away in the hallway – can’t be laid until the sub flooring is fixed. I immediately placed a rather upset call to the realtor company that handled the house, as they are responsible for damages such as that for the first year of our ownership. Furthermore, they were the ones who hired the contractors that fixed up the house before we bought it, so they’re doubly responsible.
The woman who answered was horrified to hear about the discovery, and promised to have the head of the service department call me back first thing Monday morning. Since we’re going out around 10:30 tomorrow morning, I’m going to forward our phone calls to my cell phone.
Sigh. My house is a mess. Most of the kitchen stuff is in the living room. Some of the living room stuff is in the hallway. My monstrous washer and dryer are sitting in the middle of my kitchen, where my table was. And bits of floor scraps, baseboards and other odds and ends are scattered about my kitchen counter, in the laundry area and on top of the washer and dryer.
Tomorrow is the breastfeeding rally in Harrisburg, so tonight is going to be an early one. Dinner is running a little late (we’re eating at my mom’s since our kitchen isn’t very usable), but I’m going to get the kids to bed early. We’re leaving by 10:30am tomorrow morning, since we need to drop off Alyssa with my mom and it takes about an hour to get to Harrisburg, and then we’ll need time to park and walk to the capitol building.
Have a good night everybody!
The new layout is lovely! It was well worth the wait
That’s really horrible about the floor. At least you’re able to get it fixed free of charge, but I know that doesn’t help alleviate the fact that your house is in such disarray. The good thing is that you found out about the mold before the warranty was up!
Enjoy the breastfeeding rally. Good for you for getting involved in something so important!
The new layout looks awesome, Jenn! It’s absolutely wonderful! I love the illustration, so Spring and Summery! :D
I hope the floor situation is resolved ASAP! I hope you’ll share pictures once it’s done! I bet it’s going to look so nice!
I love the simplicity of the layout
It works.
The illustration could be improved with a little bit of shading to define it a little bit, but it’s a fanastic job for someone who isn’t regularly doing it.
I love how you did the capris (and the detailing of the ties at the ends)
:D
Wow, what a cute layout! You have created an awesome layout! It looks a little odd on my end, I guess cuz I use IE, but it looks awesome. You did a great job on the photo!!
I am so sorry to hear about your floor. I would have been so pissed and upset, but im glad your getting everything all fixed up!
I like your new layout. :D
I like the big font size on this layout. Refreshing :D
I love the new layout. I can’t see her face but it could be because I use internet explorer.
Debbie – actually, she doesn’t have a face. I’m not very good at faces, so I decided to skip it.
OMG, this layout is HOT!
Loving the new layout
Simple but yet so beautiful and different!
Ack, sorry to hear about your kitchen floor, hope it gets sorted out soon.
Maaaaaaannn.. This is the second time I’ve gotten almost done desiging a theme and somebody else has come out with something similar before I can get it up! Oh well, I’m gonna finish this one anyway, I think there are enough differences!!
P.S. – It’s CUTE!
This layout is nice
I like the new look. My old eyes can’t take tiny fonts very well, so it’s nice to see the bigger font here =)
That totally sucks about the floor- ugh! We’re renovating next week, so I’m very nervous we’ll find something like that.. *bites nails*
I love this layout! It’s so cute!