Thursday, July 3, 2008

The Fear of Very Minor Changes

I've noticed on a few blogs that the paragraphs aren't all squat like mine -- you know, everything actually stretches out to the sides. Anyway, I never mess around with different blog backgrounds or templates. I hardly even dare to consider changing my opening picture. I don’t know why. I am always afraid I’ll ruin everything and can never go back if I mess around. Even in my house, I don’t dare put something different on a wall or shelf even though it might end up looking 100 times better. My sisters are so good at changing things up a bit and things are always new and better and fun with their homes, bedding, hair, or even blogs. I don’t know why I am so scared. See that different picture of me on the “about me” section off to the right? I had to comment on Shannon’s blog 50 times with different pics because I was too afraid to change on my own. I was even nervous that putting those pics of my kids down the side might ruin everything. Huh. Weird.

The point of this is to say that I was looking at the basic blog templates last night and realized that my same template (plain boring white) was available in “stretch” mode. I thought it might be good for me because what with my always selecting “large” font as well as being incapable of brevity, my posts look sooooo long as you scroll down the page, but certainly, if you stretched it out so the lines across the page were longer, then as you scrolled down it would appear shorter. Never mind that it wouldn’t actually be shorter, you’d all feel like it was and like to read it more.

The trouble was that it said if I applied the template it would erase all my font choices and colors (and as you’ve noticed, my precious different colored fonts are all the variety I’ve got going here). I was supposed to be able to “preview” my blog in stretch mode, but it won’t work. I was torn. I couldn’t change it with out knowing I’d love it! What was I to do?!! Luckily Mike noticed the quandary I was in and told me to stop right where I was at. He assured me that long and skinny posts were always preferable to short and fat posts. He told me no one would ever consider reading a post if it stretched across my page. He said these short lines are much much more fun, and everybody loves white space. I don’t know if he meant it or if I believe it (since I’ve been drawn to those longer lines), all the same I was relieved. For the present time I won’t have to battle with the awful decision of whether or not I should make a minor and completely insignificant change. (As a side note, I am pretty good with big changes in my life – babies, moves when you don’t have a home to move to, etc. So, I’m not all bad).

9 comments:

Jana said...

OH, OH, OH! Dear One! Do not fret! I, your favorite blogger friend (or so I like to think!), shall save the day!!! You can have your cake and eat it too!! I will tell you my little secret! I do this all the while I am changing my blogs up because I am always afraid I am going to loose something very vital and important! I save my blog! Yes! It works! However, I do not save it the way that Blogger tells me to save it, no, that is a download and downloads frighten me. Here is what I do....

I copy the whole HTML thing and paste it into a Word document all its own and save it with the name "blog.(then the date)" which for today would be "blog.07.03.08" and then you go ahead and make all the changes and experiments you want. I don't know about the different font colors on the posts however....they still might change and I don't believe there is anything you can do about that....but they might not change so you can look at it real positively if you want.

I dare you to be risky! I mean, look at me, I've changed up my blog about 45 times in the last week. But I was doing an exorcism so I HAD to do some changes!

I have faith in you. I really do.

And might I suggest that you leave your blog the same - on Minima which I believe it already is - and just use one of the widget blog template changers on sites like "cutest blogs on the block", then it shouldn't do a THING, not one single THING to your fonts and stuff. (But don't sue me if it does, but it shouldn't) If you want, I will happily tell you how and give suggestions. Heck, if you trust me with your password, which you might not, he he he, I could even do it for you. Email me. Do it, Do it!!

Or not. I like you just the way you are.

Jana said...

oooooH that was a very long comment. Sorry.

Liz said...

Oh Nanc, I love your long posts. You can write about any trivial thing and make it seem very entertaining and important! Plus the way you write seems real and not like you are writing an essay. I feel like mine are like that (in essay form) sometimes. People may think I really talk like that. They would have me pegged all wrong. But, your posts really sound like you, which I love. You don't need a lot of fluff on you blog because your writing is what brings us to your blog. But, I do like change and if you want to change just be careful. Mine gets really screwed up every time I change it and it takes hours to fix. It can be a little fun though.

jocelyn said...

I'm with Mike. Streched out pages are hard to look at and I think they would actually make me feel like I was reading more.

jami v. said...

nancy--i like your blog just the way it is ... it's simple yet sophisticated - and something about it being white with little splashes of color just looks so like you. :)i know that doesn't sound the way i mean it, but your blog fits you -- but you could change it and i'd love it too -- because it's your writing and your photos and your thoughts i come to "see" .... :)

Nancy said...

Thanks Tia for the info. Of course I didn't understand a word of it (it sounded like "cow stomach" to me), but my able husband could do it for me I'm sure.

The rest of ya'alls, thanks for your votes of confidence in leaving it as it is since that is what I will most likely be doing! :)

Perla said...

what a treat to come back from visiting meg to find 3 new posts! yeah!

mike is such a good husband. i think i agree with him but am not sure because i can't see it the other way, but he is just so nice to do whatever it takes to make you suddenly feel better. good man.

Marilyn said...

Hello. I was just trying to avoid thinking what to make for dinner, so I was looking at when I started my blog--2008!!--and when you started YOUR blog--2008!!--and noticing that YOU posted this on the very day I posted my first post on my light-in-leaves blog. Which means...well, nothing, except it's just weird to think that we were both sitting there in separate places writing rambly posts about writing on our blogs, and all the while not even knowing each other existed yet. Isn't it?

That is all.

Nancy said...

Haha! Oh my! Sometimes I look at these beginning posts and it just makes me chuckle/shake my head! It really was SUCH a weird and novel thing at the first, wasn’t it!? Suddenly just sharing rambling thoughts with ANYONE (which of course was really just a few friends and family who were equally excited about this novel new and daring way of sharing). But I didn’t really have a voice or know at all what I wanted to be sharing. And some of the things I wrote seem so silly. (Like this! Why would I think even my rambling thoughts on blog layouts would be something others would be eager to know about??) But then, I suppose we evolve. And I’m sure I’m still evolving. And that’s all fine and I should probably look back on this me with more fondness! (And now I shall have to read your post on this same day!)

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