[kathrynhough]

I totally see your points. Don't worry, I have a thick skin.

Anyhow, the past few years have been a "life gets in the way" scenario. I've moved across the country twice, and most of my waking hours are spent devoted to the startup that I work for. I know, tons of excuses. But no more. Trust me, I am giving myself a kick in the pants as well.

I am exploring many tools, and today I fired up my treehouse account http://teamtreehouse.com/. It's a great program for people who like to apply new skills immediately and receive consistant feedback. This process reminds me of the "learning a language" comparison that you made. When I learned French in high school, we spent the first few weeks awkwardly speaking the language by learning basic songs and cafe menu items. Once we got a feel for it, we began to learn grammar. I think that approaching learning to code this way will work for me as well. I'll need a few weeks of awkwardly following along and completing exercises within my treehouse account before I can look at the bigger picture.

Thanks for the advice. I'm starting this journey with open ears and I welcome comments like this.