The Write Stuff..........

Several weeks ago, my very good friend from school asked me if I would like to go to a private dinner with her.....to see James Patterson.

For real.

Like THE James Patterson.

THE James Patterson that has written about a hundredfiftymillion books!

 You can only imagine that it took me a nano-second to say "YES!!!"  The dinner was a fundraiser for the Oklahoma State University library. When we first walked in there was a big display where one could purchase books. It just so happened that the week of our dinner was also the week that his two latest books had come out. He also had some of his children's books there for sale, as well as some of his more "romantic books."  Awwww. It was wonderful!

 My friend that had invited me, is an alum of OSU. (I love the University of Oklahoma, but I am old enough to know if someone is gifting me with a great present, then to certainly use my manners and not mention my University---As they are huge rivals). Like my family is for OU, her family is for OSU.  Her brother is on the Board of Directors for OSU. He is also a prominent doctor in the state and he had purchased a table for the dinner. Our table was front and center, right below where James Patterson gave his speech. Not only was our table unbelievable, but my friend's brother had also gifted us with the latest novels that had just come out...AND they were autographed and waiting for us at our table. 

 We also got "private time" with Mr. Patterson, where we could "chat" with him, and have any books we purchased when we first came in signed as well. I was in author-heaven. 

 Mr. Patterson was extremely friendly and humorous as well. He told us his favorite book (as of right now) are the Junior High series he wrote for his young son. I bought those for my nephew, so when I heard those were Mr. Patterson's favorites, I knew I had scored! 

 He told us that at any time he could have up to seven (7!!!!!!) manuscripts going at one time. He lines them up on his desk and makes sure he writes every single day. Someone asked him how he could keep seven books straight and he acted like it was absolutely no big deal. WOW!!

He also said several times how utterly important it is to get kids to read. (Amen to that!!) 

 Believe it or not, I did not take my camera. I was not sure of the "rules", so I did not want to lug it around, if it was not allowed. The picture above and below were part of the "party pics" that were taken of our group. My friend is in the orange slacks next to me. Her sister-in-law is in the green next to Mr. Patterson. It was her husband that gave all of us this very generous gift. 

It was such a fun night. It was great to hear an accomplished, well-known writer give his story about how he became a writer.  What I loved best is that he said over and over again..."We all have a story to tell." 

Hmmmm.....Well we all know I have "a big story to tell!"  Mr. James Patterson and I have something in common!
Linked to:
Wow Us Wednesday

On The Road Again--Tell All Tuesday

Ten years. Ten years and counting.

Ten years and two and a half months to be exact.

It's not like I'm keeping track or anything....

But for ten years (and counting) I have been commuting to work.

And when I say "commute" I truly mean "commute"...not a spin or a jog or a whirl, but a full-fledged commute.

 When I lived in Kansas I commuted for six years. Six years of commuting in northeast Kansas can add years to your life.  NOT life to your years.  Oh my word the weather. 

My commute was 114 miles per day. 

That is 600 miles per week. 

That is 2400 miles per month. 

That equals 21,600 miles per year 

(I'm a teacher and everyone knows we only work half the time!). 

Over the six years I commuted on that long jaunt, that would add up to 129,600 miles of commuting. 

I drove through it all and saw it all.

Sometimes when I was driving home through the 

ice or snow

I would cry.

And vow never to do it again.

Till the next day......ha!

Not only did I commute all the time, but I still had children in high school myself and I went to every extra-curricular event they were in. Many times I would get home in time to pick up my husband and go from the driver's seat to the passenger seat. It was brutal.

On the upside, because I still had children at home, who were always bringing more children to my home, and because I went to 

14 million ballgames, sometimes the peace and tranquility of that long commute each way was the only quiet time I enjoyed the entire day.

I came up with a LOT of great teaching ideas on those long commutes.

My employer was remarkable about my drive. They always understood if I had to go slower than anticipated because of the weather ...which would therefore make me late to school. They always let me go home if horrible storms were rolling in.

At times I thought every highway patrolman in two counties knew me by name......

Let me just say, if you Google up my commute it says it should take  1 hour and 3 minutes. It usually took me 50 minutes. I have been known to get there under 45 minutes....if I wasn't visiting with my friends the patrolmen! 

The star is my home and the sunburst is the school where I worked.

 When we lived in Kansas, my husband worked at a community college that was about 20 minutes from our home. Our move to Oklahoma took us both to the same school district. So for the past 4 years ( and 2 1/2 months, but who's counting?) the Hubs and I have ridden to work together. In that 4 (plus) years I have probably driven the commute 10 times. The Hubs said I whined so much in Kansas that he will never let me drive! I always remind him I did not whine about the commute, only the weather I had to commute in! (For real.)

The star is our home, the sunburst is our school. 

Our commute in Oklahoma is shorter than the Kansas commute....by 10 miles. 

We commute 100 miles per day in Oklahoma. 

Which brings that up to 500 miles per week.

 And 2000 miles per month.

 And 18000 per year....

Which brings us to 72,000 miles in four years. 

I won't even bring up that extra 2 1/2 months (and counting) that I keep bringing up. 

My husband tends to follow the speed limit, therefore we have not made friends with the local highway patrol 

like I did in Kansas. 

Commuting with the Hubs is totally different than 

commuting on my own. 

He has total control of the radio.

He decides what time we leave...and come home.

Sometimes I get tired (as in sleepy) because I don't have to 

have my mind alert since I am not driving.

I still think of great teaching ideas...and I share them with the Hubs. He is thrilled.

We talk about our day at school.

We don't have to go as many places at night now since the 

children are grown.

The Hubs thinks I am bossy. (What?  Me???)

But come mid-May, I get to stay home till the first of August,

while the Hubs has to commute the entire year. He does not get summers off. I have not even dared to ask him how the commute is without me! (I probably don't want to know the answer!)

I can definitely tell a difference in myself as a commuter from 10 (plus) years ago till now.

It is hard to admit the getting older part!

But as I get older, it does wear me out sometimes....all that driving.

Then I thought I would use my (unbelievably fantastic) math skills. (That's a joke.)

If I've commuted for 10 hours per week (and 10 hours is the least amount possible)...

that makes it 40 hours per month. Times that by 9 months per year...Times the 360 hours by 10 years  (I'm not counting the extra 2 1/2 months) ....that means I have spent over 

3, 600 hours of my life commuting.

Good golly Miss Molly. 

That means I have spent more than half a year (hour wise) commuting....

No wonder I come home exhausted!

I'm wearing myself out!

Hey...I didn't even bring up how many tires I've gone through!

(I do often wonder if the state of Kansas misses the extra revenue they were getting from me!)

That was actually a tell-a lot- Tuesday!

Now 'ya know!

I Need More Hours in my Day and More Days in my Week!

When we made the decision to move back to our home state of Oklahoma four and a half years ago, 

we left behind a million friendships we had made from our almost 20 years of living in northeast Kansas.

It was a very hard decision to make, to leave everything behind

and start all over again, with new jobs, another house, and a HUGE move. 

Then I put together a post like this and I am reminded all over again

why we made the right decision. 

 I cannot even begin to think of myself living five or six hours away from this little girls that has stolen our hearts!  Sometimes living an hour away from her is too much! 

 Besides family things, I also used the cooler weather to bake.

I made a gianormous candy-corn cake (in looks only, not taste.)

 I used the cooler weather to have an excuse to make a turkey dinner on Saturday evening as well. We like turkey at our house anytime. 

 Two different days over the past few weeks we have gone wedding dress shopping for Annie. She thinks she found the one she LOVES.  

 This is it. With some other things done. She is having the train extended another foot (or two???). She is having a blush underlay (which is like a champagne color) put under all that tulle. The belt (you have to look closely) will also be the blush color. She is having sparkles put all over the tulle as well. You have to know Annie to appreciate it....(the more bling the better!) In this picture the dress had been hung up on the rack and the tulle was all smashed. On the "real" dress it will be fluffy and wonderful. Annie is happy. 

 Taylor tried on a bridesmaid dress. We did not pick this one, but I thought I would include Taylor in the post as well. Annie's wedding is blush and champagne colors. We are still on the hunt for the perfect bridesmaid dresses. (With the more bling the better mantra in mind!!) 

 A couple of weeks ago I went to a baby shower for my niece Libby. The theme was "tailgating", since it was held on a Saturday afternoon. Most Okies are glued to their TV's or actually at their respective favorite college on Saturday afternoons cheering on their teams, so a tailgating party was perfect. (Our team had a bye week, so we were good! ha!) 

 The hostess had the cutest party. There were pendants with the baby's name (Sullivan) all over the yard. She served chili dogs and Frito-chili pies in the Frito bags. Then of course the cute cupcakes were a hit. There were popcorn and peanuts on all the tables too. 

 Then there were these cute little flower pots that held mums. The hostess painted the flower pots to look like a football. Everything was very cute. 

 Two weeks ago we went to an engagement party for Annie and her beau. I will do an entire post on the party soon. It was extra-lovely. Annie got lots of fun presents and so many people came to wish the couple well. 

 Of course Leightyn was at the engagement party dressed in her leopard print finery! 

 One Friday we were off of school and Leightyn came up for me to babysit. I bought a walker for her and she was all over with our wooden floors. She had a great day and left very tired! 

 This past weekend we held a surprise 75th birthday party for my dad. (Can you tell Leightyn is always the center of attention?) 

 We are Scottish (Ferguson) and my boys all got kilts for the party. My Dad thought that was the bombdiggity. Luke (with the hat) has the plaid that most resembles the Ferguson plaid. Fielding (with the tie) has a plaid that represents firemen. Coulter's plaid is the Scottish National plaid. The tag that came with the kilts said, "If you wear underwear, it is a skirt. Real men wear kilts." Ha! Luke put a pair of underwear in his sporran (purse) and kept telling people he had them "just in case".  Really, they were all gentlemen and actually wore running shorts under their kilts. I thought they were cute (and I know I am not prejudiced at all!!)

 My Mom has fun at any party there is. My Dad is not big on parties. They are complete opposites. I think on Sunday though, they both had a great time. 

I said our family picture could be a Merry Christmas card picture. It is hard to get everyone together at the same time. So Merry Christmas!

We actually had someone come over and take a picture of the entire family so we would have everyone in it. Sullivan (my nieces son-to-be) is due in less than a month, so the picture will be outdated very quickly. I guess that is what happens with a growing family. 

We had people send us memories of my Dad and we put the letters and notes and tons of photographs in a book for him for his birthday. My sister did all the layout on Shutterfly. The book is actually very thick. Our goal was to have 75 people send in memories and we got more than that. The cover of the book was also very much what the invitation looked like. 

 My Dad looked through the book and read every single page. Several times. I think we found a present that he actually liked!! 

 I told him we needed to call the fire department for all the candles. It took three cakes to hold all the candles! He blew them all out with ease. I told him it was pretty good for an old man. 

 We had chocolate cake, German chocolate cake (my Dad's favorite) and caramel cake (my VERY favorite). We had them shipped in from a bakery in Mississippi that we love. Oh my gosh the goodness! 

The pictures are just a small sampling of the past three weeks of my life. Without a doubt, we needed to be back in Oklahoma around our children and extended family. The days are busy, busy, busy, but it is the very best kind! 

When Irish Eyes Are Watching......

We are big on tradition in our family.

So much so that as I get older I find myself examining  those traditions

to make sure we are hanging on to them for all the right reasons.

One I know that is good and true and beautiful is that of the 

115+ year old Irish christening gown.

 On Sunday I took pictures of Miss Leightyn Elizabeth Lucas wearing the gown. She is the first of the fifth generation to don the simple but splendid creation. Five generations wearing the same thing...As I said on my Facebook page, that's a lot of drool!

 My Granddad Flanagan and his eight older siblings were the first to wear the gown. He and his brothers and sisters were the first generation to be raised in America. The gown was brought over from Ireland. 

 If my Granddad were alive, he would be 101 and he was the baby of the family. Each of the Flanagan children were christened in this gown. 

 The gown is very long, very light, and full of small exquisite details. 

 The gown is in near perfect condition. It is free of stains. A few of the delicate lace pieces are a little thinned out. 

 Not only is the gown beautiful, but it comes with a full length slip as well. The entire slip is edged in lace too, with tiny, tiny buttons at the shoulder. That is Leightyn with just the slip on (above). 

 We put Leightyn in the mauve chair for part of the pictures, because that is where all five of my children were photographed wearing the gown. 

Now the new generation begins. 

 My mother (pictured above) is the Keeper of the Gown! She and her siblings were christened in the gown as well. We have often thought about having the gown professionally framed, but have opted at this time to just keep it stored so we can keep taking baby pictures. 

 It make me very melancholy when I think of my great-grandmother Mary Julia O'Connor Flanagan putting this dress on each of her nine babies. I am sure she had no idea that the dress would be used for generations to come. 

 You know if it is an Irish Catholic family that is a whole lot of babies!

 If only my wonderful Irish Grandfather had been there on Sunday when we were taking pictures we could have had all five generations present. When I took pictures of my own children in that mauve chair he would stand behind me and sing his little Irish jigs to make my babies smile. 

 I have no doubt that he was watching from above singing those same little tunes. 

 The Irish love their big families. They are story tellers. They are keen on traditions. This sweet, sweet Christening gown fulfills each of those categories. 

To Mary Julia and each of the mamas that have wrapped 

their babies in this beautiful gown,

thank you for passing on all the love this simple dress

 represents. 

Linking to:

Wow Us Wednesday

Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits

Over in Killarney 
Many years ago, 
Me Mother sang a song to me 
In tones so sweet and low. 
Just a simple little ditty, 
In her good ould Irish way, 
And l'd give the world if she could sing 
That song to me this day. 
 
"Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li, 
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, hush now, don't you cry! 
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li, 
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, that's an Irish lullaby." 

Oft in dreams I wander 
To that cot again, 
I feel her arms a-huggin' me 
As when she held me then. 
And I hear her voice a -hummin' 
To me as in days of yore, 
When she used to rock me fast asleep 
Outside the cabin door.

French Florence

 When our daughter Taylor started Radiology school, she moved back home to live with us. The idea was to help her save money, and she would not have to work so hard, therefore concentrating on school. Well, Taylor has graduated and passed her Boards on the first try. She is out looking for (an exciting) new job, and we are getting her things ready for her to move back to a place of her own. 

 Taylor found a complete set of French Provencial  furniture for sale on Craigslist. She bought it and it has sat in storage. With her new own place in the near future, we pulled part of the set out and began our makeover.   The set came with two nightstands, a king sized headboard, a long dresser with mirror and a tall dresser. It is the old-school kind of set where it is solid wood. (A/k/a HEAVY!!!)  

 Taylor loves the color turquoise and she loves black and white houndstooth. With that in mind, we pulled out our Annie Sloan "Florence" to redo one of the nightstands in the set. I had previously painted the tall dresser in an AS blue, but it just wasn't turquoisey enough for Taylor. I think "Florence" does the trick.

 Speaking of tricks, I had one more trick up my sleeve. A long time ago I had seen where someone wanted the patina of aging copper and they had used turquoise and gold paint together. I googled and tried to find the post I had read long ago, but I had no luck. So I just winged it! I took the handles off of the nightstand and then proceeded to spray paint the entire white French Provencial nightstand with gold spray paint. Surprisingly, it stayed on very well, except for the shiny laminate-type top. It did stay on the top, but just did not "grip" like it did on the rest. 

 I was doing this outside (in Oklahoma) and it was over 100 degrees. Not the smartest thing I have ever done, but I was so anxious to try my idea!  Because of the heat, the gold spray paint dried very quickly and I was able to put on a coat of AS Florence. At that point, I let Taylor's likes and dislikes take the lead. She did not want heavy turquoise on the dresser. She wanted the patina that was created with the gold over white and then the one coat of Florence.

 I also let Taylor do all the sanding. I showed her what to do and then let her take off what and how much she wanted. In some places she took it down to the white and in some she just let the gold show through. 

 We used the original hardware, as it could not be more perfect with the whole aged patina look. I did tell Taylor we might need to Rub and Buff a little of the hardware in places. I used my phone to take the pics and some of them are not perfectly clear. But I hope you can see how cool the "aging" is behind the handle. It is little white flecks and little gold flecks. 

 We put a final coat of Minwax on "natural". It has a very slight tint to it. I wanted to put a darker wax on it and whined begged for Taylor to let me, but she wanted to leave it as it was. 

In "real life" the color is just beautiful. We still have to do the other nightstand to match and at least one more of the dressers. I am not sure what her plans are for the other pieces, but we'll get them knocked out soon. In the meantime, Florence is enjoying her new French flair! 

Linking up to:

Wow Us Wednesday
Furniture Feature Friday