I really tried to use a more minimalist approach to how my blog looks, I really did.
However, I am not a white blog theme/minimalist fan. I like color and contrast.
I tried to be very conservative in my choices, after all I don’t want to scare anyone off with my choice of blues, yellows, oranges and reds or other bright colors that I would prefer to use. 
So I chose burgundy, white and silver as my primary colors, not too bright but still colorful enough to set it apart from all the minimalist blog themes out there.
These give my blog a little color, but not too much and keep it very readable which is very important (having been a Special Education Teacher, I try to be sensitive to the readability of my site).
I am not happy with the header, to say the least. The stretched appearance of the photos is caused by the formatting in WordPress has for this theme’s header section.
So I need to go in and update and figure out how to make my header look great. Here is what WordPress.com has to say about the header for this theme
You can upload a custom header image to be shown at the top of your site instead of the default one. On the next screen you will be able to crop the image.
Images of exactly 978 × 288 pixels will be used as-is.
If I go ahead and create a header with those dimensions, I will not have to worry about this stretched out look. Now to figure out how to do it correctly instead of simply using PowerPoint to create my header 
.
I would like to use these photos or a couple others that I have had taken lately. Really, I have a feeling that I will have to think about getting a better camera, in order to do it right, oh well.
Let’s see how this works out.
I hope that you like the changes and once I get the header issues straightened around, I really think that I will like the color scheme that I am able to use with this theme.
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Robin Elton
July 18, 2012 at 7:51 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
PicMonkey my friend. Easy peasy collage & resizing.
Harold L. Shaw
July 18, 2012 at 7:52 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Thanks Robin – I keep forgetting about that one, I used PPT and got it to do what I wanted pretty close
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Heather@Just a Colorado Gal
July 18, 2012 at 9:44 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I was just going to suggest PicMonkey too! I used it for my header collage and it turned out exactly how I wanted! (But I think this looks great!)
misszippy1
July 19, 2012 at 10:32 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Love the color scheme–I think you’re onto something here!
Harold L. Shaw
July 19, 2012 at 9:32 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Thanks, I think it is the best one that I have had in a long, long time, very pleased with it so far
jules1707
July 20, 2012 at 12:45 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I really like this colour scheme. I know what you mean though, it’s hard to find one that’s ‘just right’. I want to change my theme but I know it will take me ages to decide on one.
Harold L. Shaw
July 20, 2012 at 10:55 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
It is just so tough to get the design, header and color pattern, sometimes it just happens, but other times it is such a struggle to find how you want to present yourself/blog to the world. WordPress.com has made it a lot easier to try a theme out without touching the life version.
Week In Review 7/22/12 | A Veteran Runnah
July 22, 2012 at 8:21 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
[...] also did a little housekeeping on the blog and its appearance Yep A New Theme–The Old One Wasn’t Me and New Blog Header and What the Photos Mean before I left. I really like the changes and believe [...]