New Year, New Logo

2012. . . I don't delude myself into thinking that I will keep any New Year's resolutions, so, for the last few years, I haven't even bothered making any.  Sure, I try to be a better person.  But, I try that on a daily basis.  And, typically, I fail.  So, I don't need the added pressure of a New Year's resolution hanging over my head.  Lord knows I have enough stress in my life. 

But, it IS a new year.  And, change is nice.  I have been thinking about updating the layout of the blog for a while now.  I experimented with Blogger's dynamic views (which is very cool).  But, I vetoed the dynamic views because it required updating to a newer version of Internet Explorer or using Google Chrome.  And, unlike Google and Bill Gates, I don't feel the need to impose software upgrades on my readers.  I looked at different templates and backgrounds, but really didn't like any of them.  So, I decided to start designing my own. 

First on the blog redesign:  an official logo.  I needed something that said "superhero", but also represented the personalities of my children.  And, I didn't want to use their pictures. . . I wanted it to be cartoon-like. 

One whiny superheroine

So, Mike and I created South Park characters of our children on SP-Studio.  I am 99% positive that we are the only parents who have turned their children into South Park characters.  But, there was something cathartic to pick out the scrunched up eyes and wailing face for Hannah (my chronic whiner).  I highly recommend checking out this site.  I may go back and create South Park characters of other people who drive me crazy. 

Unfortunately, there were limits to the customization of your character.  Enter Photoshop.  I created "badges" for both our superheroes, scaled down Super Nibbles relative to Trouble, added the star, color matched the background to the blog, and added the text.  And, voila, our new super banner!

Knowing that my vacation ends at 5:45am, I probably shouldn't have spent 3 hours creating a new banner for the blog.  But, I LOVE it, and hope it will make everyone else laugh too.  If I ever get around to converting my blog into a book (my consolation prize to my kids, since I have neglected their scrapbooks), it will make an AWESOME cover. 

Happy New Year.

Love, The Trahans